LETTER: Democrats should boost the SALT cap
Shame on Representatives Dina Titus and Susie Lee. They both should know that the cap put on deductions for state and local taxes (SALT) was a weaponization of the tax code by the Republicans when they passed their massive tax break for the wealthy in 2017 (Monday Review-Journal).
The cap specifically targeted high tax “blue” states such as California and New York, which have high state income taxes. Middle-class taxpayers in those states pay higher federal income taxes on money paid to their local and state governments.
By way of example, an upper-middle-class family in California earning $200,000 pays about $20,000 in state income tax and about $5,000 in property tax. With the existing SALT cap, that family now has to pay additional federal income tax on $15,000 of money that they never see as income because it is being given to their state government to support local programs. Having to pay income tax on money that never comes into the family because it is given to the state government as a tax is not fair.
Clearly, the $10,000 cap is not an additional tax on only the very wealthy. It unfairly affects middle-class families in blue states. Repeal of that portion of the 2017 tax code revision that punished blue states would be fair and reasonable. Reps. Titus and Lee should focus on keeping federal taxes fair for all Americans, not just those lucky enough to live in states with no income tax.