Bill To Eliminate SALT Deduction Cap Introduced In Congress

HUDSON VALLEY, NY — A bill was introduced in Congress to remove the $10,000 cap on the state and local tax deduction for New York homeowners.

Rep. Mondaire Jones, D-Westchester/Rockland, hosted a news conference Friday announcing the SALT Deductibility Act, which would provide relief to residents of the Hudson Valley.

The bill was introduced in Congress Thursday by Jones, along with Rep. Tom Suozzi, D-Glen Cove, and Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer, D-NY.

Jones said the tax cuts for billionaires and big corporations that former President Donald Trump's administration enacted were paid for by hardworking families in Rockland and Westchester counties who pay the highest property taxes in the nation.

"That must change," the first-term congressman said. "Restoring the SALT deduction is a necessary first step to creating an equitable tax system — one where we put money back in the pockets of working people."

Jones was elected in November to represent the 17th Congressional District in New York.

According to Jones, the SALT Deductibility Act would:

• Remove the cap on the SALT deduction instituted in 2017 as part of Donald Trump’s Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.
• Allow New Yorkers to fully deduct their state and local taxes from their federal taxes.
• Bring direct relief to Congressman Jones’ constituents, who pay the highest property taxes of any Congressional District in the entire nation. (By county, Westchester ranks No. 1 and Rockland No. 2.)

Schumer said he was proud to work with Jones to restore the full SALT deduction.

"When it comes to SALT, if you think Westchester and Rockland families needed and deserved this money before the coronavirus took hold, the stakes are even higher now because the cap is costing this community tens-of-thousands of dollars they could be using amid the crisis," he said.

"Double taxing hardworking homeowners is plainly unfair," Schumer said. "We need to bring our federal dollars back home to cushion the blow this virus — and this harmful SALT cap — has dealt so many homeowners and families locally."

Roughly 330,000 people in the 17th Congressional District, or 45 percent, use the SALT deduction. The average property tax bill in the district is $11,389, according to a spokesperson. The average deduction taken in the district prior to the cap was $26,243.