Editor’s note: the following press release was provided by Alexander Wolff, public information officer of the Pelham Public School District

The Pelham Board of Education approved a resolution advocating for fair treatment of contributions in support of public education under IRS regulations while also joining a consortium of other school districts and municipalities sharing that opinion.

The consortium, led by the law firm Baker & McKenzie LLP, will submit comments to the IRS regarding the proposed regulations with the goal of mitigating the impact of the cap on State And Local Tax (SALT) deduction on residents.

“School districts in New York State are already limited by the property tax cap,” said Dr. Cheryl Champ, superintendent of schools. “The cap on the SALT deduction creates an additional hardship that will significantly increase the already high tax burden on our residents and potentially hinder our ability to provide a high-quality education for our students. Thankfully, there is still time for the IRS to reverse course.”

As stated in the resolution, “The BOE at the Pelham Union Free School District believes the proposed regulations issued by the IRS on August 23, 2018, provide insufficient clarity on many topics as well as arbitrary and unfair distinctions between deductions for individuals compared to deductions for businesses, and contributions to support public education compared to contributions to support private education.”

The resolution continues, “…It (is) necessary and appropriate to propose changes to the proposed regulations issued by the IRS to provide additional clarity for the taxpayers of Pelham and to explain and remove any arbitrary distinctions that would effectively and unfairly disadvantage the taxpayers of Pelham.”