Republican lawmakers in high-tax states New York and New Jersey are pushing to double the $10,000 cap on state and local tax (SALT) deductions for residents as part of President-elect Donald Trump's policies. It is possible that they will seek to raise that level by a factor of 10. A much-awaited tax package later this year.
Republican lawmakers who flew to Palm Beach, Fla., last weekend to meet briefly with the president-elect are now furiously working on Capitol Hill to craft a portion of the tax bill that would provide relief to working and middle-class families. I'm working on it. In their states.
“What we have done as members is [the House] ways and means [Committee] “The government is looking at different scenarios and crunching the numbers to understand how not only SALT but all the other tax proposals fit together,” said Staten Island Rep. Nicole Malliotakis. told the Post.
“We're looking at all of these things,” Malliotakis said. “Can the deduction be increased, say, doubled? If states and localities do the right thing, can the deduction be increased even more?”
“Why doesn’t the mayor do that? [Eric] Does Adams cap New York City's property taxes at 2%, like other municipalities in the state? ” she asked. “Why doesn’t the governor do that? [Kathy] Will Hochul lower personal income taxes like President Trump did at the federal level? Is there a way to hold accountable those who tax New Yorkers to death? ”
Currently, the SALT deduction available to those filing federal returns is capped at $10,000 for individuals and couples, a limit imposed by President Trump's 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.
Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R-N.J.) said the cap needs to be “at least doubled” because “inflation” has since “suffered” taxpayers.
“When I go to get a burger, when I go to the store, when I have to buy construction materials, God help me, everything,” Van Drew said. “The point is, $10,000 at the time these cuts were made was honestly, in my mind, at least double what it is now, and I don't think it would be worth just sitting around, let alone helping out a little bit more. It belongs to.”
Rockland County Rep. Mike Lawlor and Suffolk County Rep. Nick Larota in the last legislative session raised the cap to $60,000 for individual applicants and $120,000 for married couples, replacing the cap previously established. He submitted a bill to abolish the so-called “marriage penalty” that had been imposed.
Lawmakers like Long Island Rep. Andrew Garbarino, who co-chairs the bipartisan SALT caucus in the House, have proposed eliminating the cap entirely.
“The ideal SALT ceiling is zero,” said Adam Michel, director of tax policy research at the liberal Cato Institute. “The SALT deduction is an inefficient subsidy for high-tax states and local governments. If Republicans want to cut taxes for middle-class and high-income earners, that's a good goal, but instead of expanding the special interest deduction. The top marginal tax rate should be lowered.”
Finger Lakes state Rep. Claudia Tenney told the Post that the magic cap number, which some participants suggested should be $100,000 or $200,000 for individuals, is likely the Joint Committee on Taxation. It is based on an analysis by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO). .
“Personally, I don't want to be tied down to the CBO, but senators are using the CBO, which is why I proposed it to Mr. Trump later in the meeting,” Tenney said — with the president-elect representing him. He was busy with his group's performance. At Mar-a-Lago — “Hire an independent contractor like Ernst & Young or Deloitte; [Department of Government Efficiency] problem. “
“He kept saying, 'Where's your sweet spot?'” she recalled, representing the deep red state negotiating for a single bill that includes border security, energy and tax reform. He explained the opposition from Republican fiscal hawks.
“If you don’t [a single-bill package with] tax [included]That way, a lot of people in red states won't vote for SALT,” Tenney said.
“Those who are completely against it, they don't want to do anything about it, but they believe that these states are mismanaged and not properly run. To be honest, they That's a valid point,” Van Drew acknowledged. .
“I tell them, 'We subsidize agriculture,' and I support that. We subsidize corn and we support other areas as well. So , there has to be some give and take.”
“I think we’re spending billions of dollars on wind turbine subsidies and school curriculum changes,” Van Drew added of efforts that have ballooned spending in the Garden State. “It just goes on and on.”
“[The cap] “There's no way it's $200,000, that's a number thrown around,” he added. “There's no way it's $100,000.”
“What I want to see with SALT is a number that benefits middle-class families and individuals with incomes below $500,000, and is indexed to increase each year to keep pace with inflation,” Malliotakis said. he said. “There will be a flat cap for everyone. There is also the possibility that it will be phased out based on income.”
It's unclear whether Congressional Democrats will take this tax proposal seriously, but if the bill were introduced through a process known as an appropriation, it could pass by 218 votes in the Republican-controlled House. It could pass with a simple majority in the 53-47 Republican Senate. settlement. Pass bills without clearing the 60-vote filibuster as long as they are determined to affect only senators' spending.
“The SALT portion is not a tax cut for the wealthy,” Malliotakis reassured. “They're going to be talking about things like corporate tax rates, because this is going to end up in the big tax bill. That's the goal.”
Officials from Staten Island and South Brooklyn have also raised other popular items in the bill, including eliminating the alternative minimum tax, doubling the standard deduction, doubling the child tax credit and lowering personal income tax rates. These should be included in updated legislation. End of 2025.
“This is irreversible,” Malliotakis said of the alternative minimum tax, which sets payment thresholds based on the income of Americans who file returns with the IRS, adding that many taxpayers “will not benefit from SALT. '' was “prohibited''.
“I've made that very clear to everyone, the chairman, the committee members, the president, and we can't go back because it hurts middle-class families and what we're trying to accomplish here. “It has a negative impact on,” she said. Added.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) supports passing one bill by April, focusing tax items on broad changes to immigration and energy policy, but John Thune Senate Majority Leader (R-South Dakota) supports two bills. Billing method.
Trump, 78, said he had a “very strong” meeting with Senate Republicans at the Capitol last week and vowed to “get something done” on all three of his priorities. However, not all Republican senators have indicated they will introduce a single bill before the June recess. It's possible.
“Are we united on taxes?” Sen. John Hoeven (R-North Dakota) told semaphor last week. “No, we have a lot of work to do.”
Malliotakis said the money is on New York Republicans being the first to voice their opinions, and said the delegation is the “driving force” in drafting the tax language.
