A raft of organizations that represent state and local governments — including the National Governors Association, United States Conference of Mayors<br />and the National Conference of State Legislatures — quickly denounced the measure, saying it would upset the balance between local and federal interests and undermine growth.<br />The Partnership for New York, an association of large employers, estimated<br />that the value to New York City taxpayers of itemized deductions for state and local taxes was $7.7 billion in 2014, or about $6,600 per affected taxpayer.<br />Taxpayers in 10 states — California, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas<br />and Virginia — claim more than half of the total deducted, according to the Tax Policy Center.<br />Members of Congress generally take a “political Hippocratic oath” to “never be seen to do obvious harm,” he said,<br />but eliminating the deduction, which would raise taxes and undermine the ability of cities and states to tax, would violate that precept.<br />Other interest groups have also registered their opposition, like the National Association of Realtors, which said eliminating the state<br />and local deduction would help to “nullify the current tax benefits of owning a home for the vast majority of tax filers.”<br />Patrick McGeehan and Adam Nagourney contributed reporting.<br />Though residents even in some states with low income taxes, including Florida, Nevada<br />and Washington, also benefit because they can deduct general sales taxes instead, the center said.<br />That money is particularly tempting because most of the other big-ticket items in the tax code — including the deduction for mortgage interest<br />and charitable contributions — have been labeled off limits by the White House and House Republicans.
