Poughkeepsie Journal Editorial Board

Much like the health care reform effort that fortunately and repetitively went down in flames, President Donald Trump’s notion of “tax relief” would be devastating to New Yorkers unless substantial changes are made.

New York’s congressional delegation must fight hard to see the Empire State doesn’t get the raw end of any deal.

Unquestionably, the convoluted tax code must be addressed, and Trump and Congress have valid reasons to work through this vexing and longstanding problem. The president has offered direction and some specifics but not a full plan and is counting on Congress to handle a considerable amount of the details.

For certain, tax policies in this country have to be simplified. As is, the tax code stands at a whopping 70,000 pages, and there have been 15,000 changes in tax laws since the last major rewrite in 1986.

There should be widespread support to rewrite and pare down the code and, yes, lower the corporate tax rate, as Trump is proposing. Corporations would see their top tax rate drop from 35 percent to 20 percent, but Congress must first ensure that any lowering of the number comes with closing existing loopholes.

This would bring far more clarity to the tax structure and address a dizzying array of tax-avoidance tactics by corporations. For instance, over the decades, many U.S.-based corporations have reconfigured their operations to shirk their tax burden and use places like Bermuda and the Cayman Islands as tax havens. Companies with cash held by overseas subsidiaries this way are expected to be encouraged to bring it back to the United States through a temporary low tax rate, but that precise mechanism has not yet been identified.

The president also laudably wants to reduce the number of tax brackets, but the income levels for each tax rate ultimately will be  negotiated and determined by Congress.

Just as important, these cuts could greatly increase the federal deficit unless they work as intended – to greatly accelerate economic growth.

In contrast to these unknowns, one aspect of Trump’s plan would plainly hurt many New Yorkers and must be scrapped from the get-go. Trump would do away with the state and local deductions on federal income-tax returns, a proposal that would disproportionately affect New York, including counties in the Hudson Valley. Gov. Andrew Cuomo has been adamantly against this change ever since Trump floated it, and he’s not alone. Some fiscal conservatives and Republican congressmen from New York also oppose it, including local U.S. Rep. John Faso, R-Kinderhook.

In reality, Trump’s plans are far more likely to succeed in the GOP-dominated House of Representatives, so, once again, the burden will fall on the closely divided Senate to negotiate the best deal possible.

Fortunately, enough senators had the good sense to  beat back efforts to “repeal and replace” Obamacare. Here, they will have to stop efforts that would penalize millions of New Yorkers to pay for deep tax breaks to large corporations.