Legislator Rose Marie Walker and other elected officials joined with the McKee family in Hicksville to call for reforms to the current federal tax code, which forces middle class families on Long Island to pay drastically different taxes than comparable families elsewhere in the country.
In a report released by the think tank, Third Way, titled, “A Tale of Three Cities: How Similar Taxpayers Pay Drastically Different Taxes,” taxpayers were studied in Hicksville, NY, and towns in Ohio and Texas. The report showed that the current federal tax code does not factor in discrepancies in cost of living, denying Long Island families access to certain tax credits.
“A middle class family on Long Island lives very differently from a family making the same amount in McAllen, Texas. According to the report, a family in Texas could get a tax refund of $3,000, where a comparable family on Long Island could end up owing $1500,” said Legislator Walker. “It isn’t fair to our hard working, middle class families that the tax code is uniform in areas where the cost of living is so different. We’re trying our hardest to fight for families in Nassau by holding the line on property taxes, but we need help from the Federal Government too.”