New York Republican Reps. Mike Lawler, Elise Stefanik, Andrew Garbarino, and Nick LaLota back President Trump and his One Big Beautiful Bill on taxes and spending, but they put their home state above party loyalty and are absolutely right to insist that the unfair and punishing $10,000 cap on deductions of state and local taxes (called SALT) in place for the past few years be increased.
Otherwise, they won’t support the larger bill, no matter how big and beautiful it is because it would still be too small and too ugly for New Yorkers struggling to pay federal income taxes on their property taxes and their school taxes and their state income taxes.
The $30,000 level offered by House Speaker Mike Johnson is better than the current absurdly low cap, but it is still too low and the New Yorkers, who provide Johnson’s margin in the chamber, must hold fast.
This is not a new fight.
When the SALT deduction limit was first wrongly imposed in 2017 by a Republican House and a Republican Senate and a Republican White House (during Trump’s first term), a majority of New York Republicans rejected the final bill. Casting negative votes were Stefanik, Lee Zeldin, Pete King, Dan Donovan and John Faso. The four men aren’t in Congress now, but Stefanik remains, as does her principled opposition, now joined by more junior members who weren’t there in 2017.
Included in the list is also Nicole Malliotakis, who likewise has demanded that the cap be raised, but will settle for the $30K number.
It is fundamentally wrong to tax people on their taxes and the arguments that it will cost the federal treasury revenue to lift the deduction cap is a hollow one.
There is no tax on mortgage interest payments for most Americans who own homes. If that was wiped out or capped at $10K, there would be more tax revenue.
There is no tax on money spent on employer-sponsored health insurance. If the tax code was altered to get rid of that break, there would be more revenue for Uncle Sam.
So why is restoring a tax deduction that existed forever countered with bookkeeping math? Answer: Because some very wealthy people like Mike Bloomberg would also benefit. But he’s one guy and there are millions of New Yorkers who are hit with the burden.
And what is so pernicious about this is how it lands on Americans so unequally. Only those states with higher taxes have to pay. So, yes, property taxes are high on Long Island and the Hudson Valley. Homeowners then pay those high taxes. And along comes Uncle Sam and he says, “now pay again.” No way, and Lawler, Stefanik, Garbarino and LaLota cannot relent.
The Democrats don’t have clean hands in this situation. When they took control of the White House, the House and the Senate after the 2020 election, they didn’t do a thing to end the $10K cap.
Should the cap be lifted, as it must be, the credit will go to those who fought their own party to get it done. The winners won’t just be a handful of GOP House members, but countless New Yorkers who deserve a better deal from their federal government.
