Governor Urges New York’s House Democrats to Eliminate SALT Cap, Fund Gateway Tunnel

December 3rd, 2018

Last Monday, Gov. Cuomo released a letter to the New York House Democratic Delegation congratulating them on their victory and urging them to push for eliminating the $10,000 cap on the federal tax deductibility of state and local taxes  and funding for the Gateway Tunnel.

On the SALT deduction, he wrote “The current cost of the SALT bill to New York is $14.3 billion growing to $15.9 billion annually.  It would make this state, and other Democratic states, considerably less economically competitive.”

On the Gateway Tunnel, he wrote:

“The existing Hudson River train tunnels carry trains between New York and New Jersey and serve the entire Northeast Corridor.  The tunnel is a federal government asset owned by Amtrak and the federal government has a priority interest in ensuring the new Gateway Tunnel is built.  This should not be viewed as a project for New York and New Jersey – the economic and commercial vitality of the entire nation is at stake given that the northeast region served by the Gateway Tunnel contributes twenty percent of the national Gross Domestic Product.  The existing tunnels are seriously deteriorated and the damage was exacerbated by Superstorm Sandy.  It is only a matter of time before one or both will be unusable.”