![\"Congressman](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/143670007490bbc856cc6828d82e95e7.jpeg\"\/)
<\/p>\nAnother April 15\u00a0has come and gone, which means this year\u2019s dreaded Tax Week is now in our collective rear-view mirror.\u00a0As residents\u00a0of\u00a0New York State, we\u2019ve been forced to endure absurdly high taxes, spiking energy bills and crushing cost-of-living increases for years resulting from the excessive spending in Albany.<\/p>\n
While Gov. Kathy Hochul tries to blame that \u2014 and everything else \u2014 on President Donald Trump, the true facts here are indisputable.\u00a0The blame for New York being\u00a0an\u00a0unaffordable mess rests squarely on the Democratic politicians who overwhelmingly control state government.<\/p>\n
But instead of just complaining about it \u2014 I took decisive action.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Congressman Mike Lawler (NY-17) with Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent and local business owners attend an economic roundtable at Hill Blvd Diner on Friday, April 10, 2026. The visit is to highlight the impact of pro-growth economic policies on New York businesses, including the benefits of the Working Families Tax Cuts Act for the 17th District.<\/p>\n
We delivered on SALT and other tax cuts<\/p>\n
In Washington,\u00a0I challenged members of both parties \u2013 and even the president \u2013 to deliver a significant tax cut this year that eases the burden on Hudson Valley families, seniors, small businesses and workers.\u00a0 In particular, I made a promise during my first campaign\u00a0to\u00a0raise\u00a0the cap on state and local tax deductions \u2014 SALT \u2014\u00a0and I delivered on that promise.<\/p>\n
The result? In recent weeks, news outlets on the right\u00a0(\u201cBlue-State Residents Are Reaping Big Refunds From Trump Tax Law\u2019s SALT Cap,\u201d<\/a>\u00a0Wall Street Journal, March 28) and the left\u00a0(Bloomberg News, \u201cSALT Cap Boost in Trump Tax Bill Supersizes New Yorkers\u2019 Refunds,\u201d<\/a>\u00a0Feb. 13, 2026) have highlighted how the historic tax law passed by House Republicans is delivering significant tax relief to\u00a0blue state\u00a0residents, including\u00a0in\u00a0New York.<\/p>\n The reason is simple: A coalition of common sense, pragmatic Republicans like me fought leadership in both parties to quadruple the SALT deduction, raising the cap to $40,000 for taxpayers earning less than $500,000 a year.\u00a0The income cap also guaranteed that this was no giveaway to the uber-wealthy.\u00a0On\u00a0the contrary, the savings are squarely\u00a0benefitting\u00a0middle-income earners.<\/p>\n As a result,\u00a0my constituents are averaging\u00a0a tax cut of over 3,000 this year<\/a>, with many seeing\u00a0double and triple that amount. In fact, 90% of Hudson Valley residents can now fully deduct their state and local taxes.Don\u2019t believe me?\u00a0 Visit my website at\u00a0https:\/\/www.lawlerforcongress.com\/taxrelief\/<\/a>, plug-in your own numbers to the independent, non-partisan Tax Foundation tax calculator and see for yourself.<\/p>\n In addition to quadrupling the SALT cap, the new tax law will also:<\/p>\n Increase senior citizen tax deductions on Social Security benefits<\/p>\n Virtually eliminate taxes on tips and overtime pay for millions of workers<\/p>\n Boost the child tax credit to $2,200 per child for nearly 90,000 local families<\/p>\n Allow a new tax deduction on auto loans for American-made vehicles<\/p>\n Keep lower tax brackets in place to prevent a massive tax increase<\/p>\n Enhance deductions for small businesses in order\u00a0to reduce costs<\/p>\n More: Mike Lawler: Utility prices crush NY’s middle class. Where is Albany? | Opinion<\/a><\/p>\n Let’s reopen Indian Point to lower electricity costs<\/p>\n These taxpayer-friendly policies are leading to sizable tax refunds and \u2014 even better \u2014 less of your hard-earned money going to the government in the first place.\u00a0Better yet, I don\u2019t plan to stop at just lowering your taxes.\u00a0Next, I will tackle the energy crisis and the rising cost of electricity.<\/a><\/p>\n To that end, I recently announced my support for responsibly reopening Indian Point Energy Center.<\/a>\u00a0Predictably, my opponents and Hochul attacked me for it,<\/a> but the reality is that the decision to shut the plant down in the first place was a mistake.\u00a0 It\u2019s what happens when policy is driven by extreme, far-left ideology, not science.<\/p>\n Residents across the Hudson Valley are suffocating under rising energy prices thanks to the unaffordable and unrealistic electrification mandates put in place by Hochul and Albany politicians.\u00a0Moreover, the connection between higher costs and the closure of Indian Point cannot be disputed.\u00a0Since its closure was announced,\u00a0New York has seen a nation-leading 58% increase in electricity costs<\/a>.\u00a0To make matters worse, these unconscionable increases hit lower income families and those on a fixed income harder than anyone.<\/p>\n As for the predictable accusations from Hochul and others that\u00a0I am somehow anti-environment for wanting to expand\u00a0natural gas and nuclear \u2014 nonsense.\u00a0\u00a0Look no further than our neighbor, Pennsylvania<\/a>, where electricity costs are 40% lower than New York\u2019s because their Democratic governor has steadfastly supported an aggressive all-of-the-above energy strategy that includes natural gas pipeline construction.\u00a0While in Michigan,\u00a0their Democratic governor is on the verge of making her state the first in the country to open a previously shuttered nuclear plant<\/a>, and is working to return energy diversity to the state\u00a0\u2014\u00a0resulting in\u00a0her residents paying\u00a045% less than we do for energy.<\/p>\n Folks, Democrats and Republicans in other states are working together to lower costs and get things done. I am doing the same\u00a0in\u00a0Congress. Maybe New York Democrats will give it a try.<\/p>\n Rep. Mike Lawler, a Republican, represents New York’s 17th Congressional District, which includes all of Rockland and Putnam counties and parts of Westchester and Dutchess counties.<\/p>\n