ELMSFORD, NY—Gov. Andrew Cuomo traveled to Westchester County on Tuesday to sign legislation geared to circumventing the tax increases imposed on New York State taxpayers from the federal tax reform bill passed earlier this year.

The governor ceremoniously signed the legislation included in the recently passed state budget on “Tax Day” at an event held at the International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local 456 headquarters in Elmsford. The legislation provides new options for tax deductible charitable donations, creates a new Employer Compensation Expense Program so employers can help their employees maximize deductibility, and decouples the state tax code from the federal tax code, where necessary, to avoid more than $1.5 billion in estimated state tax increases brought solely by increases in federal taxes, state officials say.

Gov. Cuomo also reiterated his contention that New York will join with New Jersey and Connecticut to sue the federal government over the tax impacts of the tax reform bill that caps state and local tax (SALT) deductions at $10,000. The governor and other officials that attended yesterday's bill signing noted that particular provision of the federal tax reform bill as particularly onerous on high cost areas, such as Westchester County for example. The governor pegged the federal tax reform bill's cost to New York State taxpayers at $14.3 billion.