On the matter at hand, Cuomo lashed out at a proposed compromise that would leave the deduction for middle-income New Yorkers, saying the plan worked “on the theory that New Yorkers are stupid." | Darren McGee/Office of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo Cuomo and Schumer unite to fight tax deduction

SELKIRK — The push by Democrats to preserve the deductibility of state and local taxes came to a front lawn here on Monday, as local politicians, firefighters, housewives and a little boy with a lollipop flanked Sen. Chuck Schumer and Gov. Andrew Cuomo while they argued their case.

Schumer rarely makes joint appearances with Cuomo and sometimes throws veiled darts at his fellow Democrat. But on this occasion, they presented a united front.


“Congress has placed a bull's-eye on New York State — you don’t have to be a partisan nose to smell a rat, but I tell you, this plan stinks,” Schumer (D-N.Y.) said. “Given the small margin by which the original bill passed in the House, if every member of the New York delegation — Democrat and Republican — would say they’re not voting for any bill that cuts state and local deductibility, that bill would fail.”

Cuomo said getting rid of the deduction would be “devastating ... an attempted death blow,” and represented “coarse, base politics.” Later, during an interview on NY1, the governor called it “a modern day form of treason.”

“It is partisan, it is mean spirited, it is cheap politics, it's un-American, it causes the congressional people to show fealty to their political leadership at the expense of their constituents,” Cuomo said in Selkirk. “We can't let it happen.”

Schumer named the nine Republicans in New York’s congressional delegation. The event was focused on Reps. Elise Stefanik (R-Willsboro) and John J. Faso (R-Kinderhook), but was conducted in an Albany County suburb in the heart of Rep. Paul Tonko’s (D-Amsterdam) district.

Schumer arrived 15 minutes late and spoke for 11 minutes before turning over the podium to Cuomo. The governor arrived only five minutes late but was forced by Schumer’s tardiness to make small talk with a 3-year-old boy, who was sucking a lollipop in the front yard of his family's five-bedroom colonial in a quiet subdivision between Routes 9W and 32.

Darren McGee/Office of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo

“Red? You like red? Is that your favorite? Not so much?” Cuomo said. The boy slowly unwound himself from the leg of his mother, Kathleen DiSpirito, to give the governor a red candy. Sen. Neil Breslin (D-Delmar) arrived after another few minutes, and asked Cuomo to pose for a picture.

“Let me hide the lollipop,” Cuomo replied, obliging Breslin. “Remember the old days when you would hide the beer? Especially at 9 a.m.”

Schumer finally arrived and opened the event with an apology for being late.

“I blame it on Gov. Cuomo,” he said with a slight smirk.

“Why not?” The governor, standing 18 inches to the north, interjected as he raised his hands.

“His Rebuild New York program is so successful, I got stuck behind a large truck carrying parts for a bridge,” Schumer continued.

There was some laughter, but it barely broke the din of a milder-than-normal fall breeze ruffling unfallen leaves and a wood chipper operating intermittently down the block.

On the matter at hand, Cuomo lashed out at a proposed compromise that would leave the deduction for middle-income New Yorkers, saying the plan worked “on the theory that New Yorkers are stupid." Business leaders said it would cause the wealthy to flee the state, either on paper or in real life.

The governor’s budget office estimates that 3.3 million New Yorkers will save $5.2 billion writing off property taxes and $12.1 billion deducting local income taxes this year — meaning their federal income taxes would rise between 20 and 44 percent if the deductions were eliminated.

Both Cuomo and Schumer have been making this argument for months, separately, and are backed up by the New York State Association of Counties, the New York State Association of Realtors, the Business Council of New York State, basically every Democratic politician and many of the state’s Republicans, including some in the congressional delegation.

Stefanik and Faso both signed a letter in June expressing “deep concerns” about eliminating the state and local tax deduction. But neither has said unequivocally that its repeal would be the determining factor when the tax reform bill comes for a vote.

In a statement, Faso said, "Tax reform is important in order to grow the economy and to create opportunities for families across New York and the nation. I remain opposed to eliminating the deductions for state and local taxes, as this would represent, in effect, double taxation on New York families.”

Stefanik’s spokesman wrote in an email that it was “disappointing that Governor Cuomo and Senator Schumer are defending the status quo of a broken tax code — this outdated tax code harms our economy and costs North Country families good paying jobs.”

The governor strode quickly down the driveway after the event, answering one off-topic question about homelessness without stopping and ignoring an inquiry about Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. as he held the door to his waiting SUV.

Schumer, who later headed to an event in Canandaigua, stood on the curb chatting with a Newsday reporter and then took questions from the press after the governor had pulled away. Cuomo has already said he would help campaign against upstate Republicans next year, and said he raised the SALT issue last week when House Speaker Paul Ryan was at the annual Al Smith charity dinner.

Schumer said he didn’t think SALT would become an electoral issue.

“[Rep. Pete] King and [Rep. John] Katko voted against the original plan,” Schumer said. “[Rep. Dan] Donovan now seems to be against it. Faso — none of them have come out for the plan with state and local in it, so we have a good shot at winning.”