Hil and Chuck slam tax plan

nydailynews.com
Hil and Chuck slam tax plan
NEWS WIRE SERVICES

WASHINGTON - A proposal to do away with many tax deductions would wallop New Yorkers with an extra $12 billion tax bill, officials warned yesterday.

The President's Advisory Panel on Federal Tax Reform's offering of a drastically simplified income tax system - one that would no longer allow taxpayers to deduct what they pay in state and local taxes - was denounced by Sens. Chuck Schumer and Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.).

"It is a dagger to the heart of the people on New York," said Schumer, who vowed to defeat the "pernicious proposal."

Clinton said 3.2 million families in the state would be affected and demanded Bush immediately dismiss the plan.

Gov. Pataki also vowed to fight the proposal.

Nationally, taxpayers would pay roughly the same amount of tax under the proposed system, and much of the paperwork would be eliminated.

The White House made no commitment to stick to the panel recommendations when forwarding its tax-simplification proposal to Congress next year, Bush administration spokesman Scott McClellan said.

More info about the plan is at www.taxreformpanel.gov.