Tax officials getting ‘swamped’ by requests to prepay taxes ahead of tax bill’s impact: report

Tax officials in New York say they are inundated with calls from residents seeking to avoid fallout from the GOP tax plan after New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) signed an executive order to make sure residents could prepay next year’s taxes.

The New York Times reports that residents fearful of the plan’s cuts to state and local tax deductions have flooded local tax officials with calls seeking assistance with filing taxes.

“I’m getting swamped with many, many calls, usually one an hour, from people who want to prepay their taxes,” said Town of Greenburgh supervisor Paul Feiner.

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“Practically all the officials in Westchester are being swamped with calls,” he added.

The House and Senate passed final versions of the GOP tax-reform plan this week, which President Trump signed into law before leaving for the winter holidays on Friday.

The bill included major cuts to state and local tax deductions, but also doubled the standard deduction for all taxpayers. 

Cuomo signed an order on Friday that blocked provisions in state law that could have stopped some residents from prepaying their taxes. The New York Democrat and possible 2020 contender wasted no time in affirming that his move was meant to help residents “circumvent” the new law.

“You are damned right,” Cuomo said.

The governor went on to accuse Republicans of looting tax dollars from blue states to improve relations with their bases in red states.

“This is now red vs. blue. They are using New York, California and the other blue states to finance the tax cuts in red states,” he said.

Even some Republicans criticized the tax bill for unequal treatment of states with high local taxes and high property values, such as New York, New Jersey and California.

Feiner added that residents in his town were “furious” about the tax bill, but that Cuomo’s executive order meant relief for his town.

“I think they realized that people are really furious,” said Feiner. “We have to act really quickly, and implementation is going to be tough, but I think it will be worth it.”