Gov. Cuomo is following through on a promise to take the 2017 tax reform bill to court.
He, along with officials from Maryland, Connecticut, and New Jersey, are filing suit today against the part of the measure that puts a $10,000 cap on state and local tax deductions, claiming it's a violation of the Constitution.
The governor, in a conference call with reporters, said what the Republicans did last year was "repugnant," and designed to hurt Democratic states like New York.
"The so-called SALT provision was un-American," the governor said. "What you did was you divided the states. You penalized the Democratic states, and that was the effect of the tax reform act with the SALT provision."
Cuomo said the law "flies in the face of centuries of precedent," which place limits on the government's ability to use its tax power to interfere with the authority of the states.
Asked about cutting state taxes, the governor said New York already gives $48 billion more to the federal government than it gets back. "Give us back the $48 billion," Cuomo said, "and I will cut taxes."
The governor said the new provision will actually increase New Yorkers' taxes by more than $14 billion, and lead to a decline in home values.
The lawsuit is being filed in federal court in Manhattan.
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