Nancy Pelosi is trying to add a tax break for rich Democrats in the infrastructure bill. She wants to restore the SALT deduction. (State and Local Taxes) Currently, they can only write off a maximum of $10,000 and she wants to make it unlimited. That allows the rich to write off their property tax, state tax, and local taxes. Millionaires save a bundle. The cost of her action would cost the Treasury a ton of money every year.
Since the tax reform bill’s passage in 2017, Democrats have been trying to get that thrown out to benefit rich New Yorkers and Californians. A five-million-dollar mansion in LA county pays 1% which comes out to $50,000. That alone gives them an additional $40,000 dollar deduction. That does not include state and local taxes on their income. Imagine the kickbacks the Democrats will rake in.
Pelosi called the cap “mean-spirited” and “a political action on the part of the Republicans.”
California is among the states impacted by the SALT cap, along with New York, New Jersey, and other places with high property taxes and expensive real estate.
Republicans immediately attacked the idea of eliminating the cap.
“Restoring the SALT deduction would once again force low- and middle-income people to subsidize wealthy individuals in high-tax states and municipalities,” Sen. Pat Toomey, a Pennsylvania Republican, said.
It will also give Democratic governors an excuse to raise taxes even more. Not that Democrats ever really need a reason to raise taxes. It’s in their DNA. So, the Democrats get a cut, the state will take a cut and Joe Biden will take a huge bite out of their wallets. Come to think of it, the rich may come out of this with a loss. You can only cut a pie so many times.
The majority of taxpayers still receive a tax break for writing off their state and local taxes. Capping the deduction was good policy at the time and good policy now.
he problem is that Democrats don’t want to have to face the consequences of their profligate spending. It’s not as easy to continually raise taxes to pay for their ever-expanding government when taxpayers begin to feel the pinch.
Democratic members in high-tax states like New York, New Jersey, Maryland, and California are under increasing pressure from their wealthy homeowners to get rid of the cap. They’re also hearing it from members of their state legislatures and local governments.
This may be one of the last chances they have to shoehorn the SALT deduction repeal into legislation before they lose their majority.
