Former President Trump did a 180-degree turn on a controversial tax policy known as the SALT deduction cap on Tuesday, straying from a key provision of his signature domestic policy.
“I will turn this around, bring back SALT, lower taxes and much more. I will work with Democrat governors and mayors to make sure the funding is there,” he wrote on his social media platform, Truth Social, on Tuesday afternoon.
The SALT (state and local tax) deduction cap, set at $10,000 in the 2017 Trump tax cuts, was highly unpopular in Democratic-leaning states where many high-income families used the deduction as a tax break.
Democrats were quick to point out Tuesday that the cap has its origins in President Trump's own tax bill.
“I've always supported repealing the SALT cap. I think this is a terrible bill that Donald Trump supported that targets blue states that helps their citizens in many ways,” Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., told reporters on Tuesday.
The SALT cap has caused divisions within the Republican Party, and Republicans in Democratic states have fought to have it lifted.
Rep. Nick LaRota (R-NY) told The Hill earlier this year that he would vote against a bipartisan tax reform bill proposed by the Republican-chaired Ways and Means Committee because it did not include raising or eliminating the SALT deduction.
“In high-tax blue states, supporting SALT is popular, but so is fighting for it. And I intend to fight for my constituents by voting against my party's tax reform plan unless there is meaningful relief for SALT,” he said.
