Companies in New York 'open' to new payroll tax system: state official

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Companies in New York state are “open to the idea” of moving the state income tax code to a payroll tax system, a senior state official told Reuters on Friday.

Governor Andrew Cuomo earlier this week said the state was exploring using a payroll tax as an alternative to the income tax in order to help residents hurt by new limits on deductions of state taxes from federal returns, under a sweeping overhaul of the U.S. tax code passed in late December.

Cuomo, along with governors of other high-tax states such as California, has railed against the provision of the federal tax overhaul that introduced an annual cap, of $10,000, on the deduction of state and local income and property taxes, known as or SALT. The $10,000 limit, which became effective for the 2018 tax year, will hit many taxpayers in states with high incomes, property values and taxes.

Paying New York state taxes out of corporate payroll rather than an income tax would help ease the effect on residents of the new cap. New York state residents, however, would still face a $10,000 cap on deductions of local and property taxes.

Read more: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-tax-new-york/companies-in-new-york-open-to-new-payroll-tax-system-state-official-idUSKBN1EV04X