Mayors Urge Congress to Reject Parts of Tax Plan

About 160 of the nation’s mayors Wednesday urged Congress to reject parts of President Reagan’s federal budget and tax overhaul proposals that they say will harm cities.

The mayors, who are attending the 53rd annual U.S. Conference of Mayors, unanimously adopted a resolution urging Congress to remember the needs and concerns of urban areas while considering Reagan’s proposals this summer.

‘Our Fair Share’

“We are prepared to pay our fair share,” said Mayor Joseph Sensenbrenner of Madison, Wis. “But we believe that this proposal, in the context of other changes in the federal system, has made the cities and Americans who live in cities pay more than their fair share.”

The conference, in which Democrats outnumber Republicans 2 to 1, also approved a resolution urging Congress to “preserve the historic relationship between the federal government and state and local governments.”

Mayor Terry Young of Tulsa, Okla., singled out the proposed halt to tax-exempt industrial development bonds, which cities issue to borrow money for projects, as an undesirable change.

‘A Double Whammy’

“There will be more money going out of our cities and less money coming into our cities, if the proposals on tax exemptions for municipal bonds are approved,” Young said.

He also criticized Reagan’s proposal to eliminate the deduction for state and local taxes on federal personal income taxes. “We have, in essence, a double whammy being proposed,” Young said.

Eliminating the deductions will increase urban residents’ federal taxes and make them less receptive to local tax increases, he said. But local governments are being asked to raise more money and provide more services under Reagan’s vision of the “new federalism,” he said.

The mayors also approved resolutions urging a reversal of the nuclear arms race and urging Congress to eliminate tax barriers to foreign investment in cities. But the federal budget and tax proposal issues dominated the conference.

The mayors also repeated their opposition to ending general revenue sharing, which distributes $4.6 billion a year to city and state governments with no conditions on how the money can be spent.