By Hank Russell
A group of Long Island congresspeople brought back a bill in Congress on January 15 that they said would repeal the limit on how much state and local taxes can be written off.
The Securing Access to Lower Taxes by ensuring (SALT) Deductibility Act would allow taxpayers to fully deduct their state and local taxes on their federal income returns. Specifically, the SALT Deductibility Act would amend Section 164(b) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to repeal the limitation on the deduction of state and local property and income taxes. Under current law, the deduction is capped at $10,000 per tax filing.
The Act was introduced in 2021 by Tom Suozzi (D-Glen Cove). It was referred to the House Ways & Means Committee, but the committee never voted on it.
This year, the legislation was reintroduced by Suozzi, Andrew Garbarino (R-Patchogue) and Lauren Gillen (D-Garden City), along with representatives from other high-tax states, such as Josh Gottheimer (D-New Jersey), Young Kim (D-California), Rob Menendez (D-New Jersey), Chris Smith (D-New Jersey), Brad Schneider (D-Illinois), Mike Lawler (R-New York), Sean Casten (D-Illinois), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-District of Columbia-At Large), Danny Davis (D-California), Tom Kean Jr. (R-New Jersey), Judy Chu (D-California), Julia Brownley (D-California), Jerry Nadler (D-New York), Mikie Sherrill (D-New Jersey), Jimmy Panetta (D-California), Pat Ryan (D-New York), Jamie Raskin (D-Maryland) and Jimmy Gomez (D-California).
It’s not just members of Congress seeking to eliminate the SALT cap. As Long Island Life & Politics reported, Governor Kathy Hochul and U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer both called on the Long Island GOP Congressional contingent to get something done about repealing the SALT cap.
On January 11, Garbarino and Kim met with President-elect Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago in Florida about repealing the cap. In a joint statement, they said they had “a productive meeting” with Trump said he was “committed to addressing this issue for our districts.”
“Since the SALT deduction cap was implemented, hardworking Americans from states like New York have been suffering from unfair double taxation — all while receiving a fraction of what they contribute in federal funds,” said Garbarino, SALT Caucus co-chair. “Enough is enough. We are calling for a full repeal of the cap that disproportionately impacts middle-class families in our districts.”
Suozzi, who also co-chairs the SALT Caucus, called the cap “a body blow to my constituents,” adding, “I will continue to fight to restore this important deduction.”