Governors of New York, Connecticut and New Jersey suing the Federal Government over the allowable Federal deduction for State taxes paid

By Guest Column -- Victoria Vaugh —— Bio and Archives February 1, 2018

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It's actually pretty funny if you think about it, the Governors of New York, Connecticut and New Jersey suing the Federal Government over the allowable Federal deduction for State taxes paid. I'm pretty sure there is no law that requires the federal government to write tax laws with individual states in mind. In fact, I'd bet money that to do so would be illegal. What do those northeastern states get for those high taxes? Their roads and bridges are a disaster and their high schools all rank behind Florida according to a US News and World Report article. Here's the situation: in all 3 states the top 1% of earners cover 40% of the revenue. If those people relocate to, oh I don't know, Florida or Texas where there is no state income tax, the northeast will be hurting. On the flip side, middle class people in those states are probably going to benefit from the changes in the law. For comparison, Florida has 2 million more residents than New York but only has half the budget of New York. One of the results of the tax overhaul just might be better state governance in some places. They may have no choice.