New Yorkers in Congress tend to have big ideas about taxes. And as Republicans hammer out their tax bill next year, Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-N.Y.) will be right in the heart of it all.
Malliotakis, who represents Staten Island and part of Brooklyn, has been a notable addition to the House Ways and Means Committee this Congress.
The two-term lawmaker has become a vocal advocate for key district issues like allowing more deductions for state and local taxes, or SALT. Malliotakis’ other priorities next year include increasing the standard deduction, preserving the 2017 child tax credit and reviving domestic manufacturing supply chains, including for pharmaceuticals.
We interviewed Malliotakis for the latest in our series of Q&As on taxes in 2025 — when much of the 2017 Trump tax cuts expire. This interview was edited for length and clarity. Let’s get into it.
Q: I know some of your colleagues have gotten pretty aggressive in their tactics on SALT. You’re a voice on the committee — what do you think colleagues should be thinking about in terms of what makes sense on SALT?
Malliotakis: I think the major thing to keep in mind is anything that’s added, something’s got to be removed and it’s got to work out. And there’s many ways we can provide tax relief for our constituents…
The child tax credit is important. The standard deduction is important. SALT is important. Tax relief for seniors on Social Security is important. I’ll be for anything that provides the lowest taxes for my constituents…
My proceeding with caution is we need to make sure that the [alternative minimum tax] does not come back. That to me has to be part of it. We can’t do SALT and have the AMT come back. It’ll hurt — it’ll kill middle-class families. And the committee understands how I feel about that.
I do want to see some SALT relief, and I think that the best thing would be increasing the deduction, limiting it so it’s based on income and getting rid of the marriage penalty.
Q: Do you feel like President-elect Trump is proposing getting rid of taxes on Social Security benefits, taxes on overtime pay and taxes on tips — is the committee taking that really seriously?
Malliotakis: Overtime is probably the most complicated of that group, but I would say I think there’s something that can be done in each of those areas. It won’t be a complete elimination of tax — there’s got to be parameters.
But I think that there is something that can and should be done in each of those categories that the president will be fulfilling his campaign promises and we will be helping real middle-class Americans keep more of their money.
Q: How are you thinking about how much of the tax cuts’ cost needs to be offset?
Malliotakis: Everyone wants tax cuts, but nobody really wants to pay for them. So that’s always the challenge here when you have 435 members and everybody wants something different.
I think that’s why we have to be reasonable in our approach and try to spread the tax relief, but understand that we’re not going to be able to get everything.
