Rep. John Faso won’t be changing his vote to the "yes" column on the federal tax overhaul legislation, he said Monday in a statement.
"I am pleased that changes I advocated for were made to the medical expense deduction, higher education affordability benefits, and private activity bonds in this final version in comparison to the House bill. Each of these provisions were primary concerns of mine because of their impact on families, students, and local economic development," Faso said.
"While there has been positive progress, I still cannot vote for the conference committee package due to my overwhelming concern with the state and local income tax deduction."
Faso is the latest New York Republican to announce opposition to the proposal. Along with Rep. Elise Stefanik, Reps. Peter King, Lee Zeldin and Dan Donovan remain opposed to the bill over the concerns of capping deductions for state and local taxes at $10,000.
Governor Andrew Cuomo, in a conference call with reporters on Monday afternoon, was not impressed with mere votes against the bill, saying the lawmakers ought to do more to bring federal money back to the state to be more in in with what the state’s residents pay in taxes.
"If the congresswoman wants to be helpful, tell her to get our $48 billion back," he said.
Rep. Paul Tonko (D-20) released a statement on the tax bill vote that suggests he's leaning toward voting with his party.
He said in part, "After rushing the bill through Congress with no hearings, limited markup & no transparency. The final bill wasn’t released until Friday night. This is no way to govern."
The bill is expected to be voted upon later Tuesday morning. It is expected to sail through the Republican controlled house, and is expected to be much closer in the Senate. Opponents point out that the bill overwhelmingly helps corporations and the richest people in the country. Proponents say by cutting corporate tax rates, it will help grow the economy.