WASHINGTON — Donald Trump on Tuesday called for a rollback of part of his signature tax law, suggesting he would seek to restore state and local tax cuts known as SALT. controversially covered In the 2017 legislation.
Truly Social post Before his trip to Long Island, New York, the former president tweeted that if he returned to the White House in January, he would “take back the SALT” and “lower your taxes.”
Trump did not elaborate or provide specifics. But the statement is the first time Trump has called for rolling back part of his biggest legislative achievement, a law he wants to extend when key parts of it expire next year.
A 2017 law capped the previously unlimited federal deduction for state and local taxes at $10,000 per filer. The policy hit hardest for Americans in high-tax blue states — particularly New York, New Jersey and California — that rank their deductions highest. Democrats representing most of those areas protested vehemently at the time, accusing the GOP of using tax policy to wage a culture war. Some Republicans in those states also say the $10,000 limit should be lifted.
Trump’s comment was the latest in a series of comments seems impulsive has policy comments turned their heads within the party. Most Republicans oppose expanding the SALT deduction and criticize Democrats. to push to raise $10,000 cap.
“I have always been in favor of lifting the cap on SALT. I think it was an abominable piece of legislation aimed at blue states supported by Donald Trump,” Senate Majority Leader D.N.Y. Chuck Schumer responded to a question from NBC News about Trump’s comments on Tuesday.
Schumer has promised that if he is majority leader again next year, it will ensure that the SALT cap ends At the end of 2025.
Despite Trump’s comments, it is unclear whether the Republican-led Congress will lift the SALT cap. At the beginning of this year, A House Republican caucus They blocked their party from allowing New York GOP members to vote to expand the SALT deduction.
Conservative tax policy adviser Ryan Ellis said the revenue raised in the 2017 law “paid for a lot of the rate cuts,” adding that reinstating the SALT cap would be “terrible” policy.
“It’s good to keep $10,000. to deal with marriage penalty OK,” Ellis said in a text message. “Opening the lid? A big tax cut for the rich won’t get you any economic growth.”
Ellis said Republicans have been discussing changes to the law and that Trump hopes to “get the conversation in the House to a place where it’s positive and rational for everybody.”
When asked by NBC News for details of the plan, the Trump campaign did not offer any. Campaign spokeswoman Caroline Leavitt made a sweeping statement: “President Trump sees the working men and women of America being crushed by Kamala. [Harris]’s inflation policy went out of control. While his pro-growth, pro-energy policies have made life affordable again, President Trump also intends to quickly roll back tax breaks for working people and seniors.
Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., a first-term congressman seeking re-election in a competitive district, praised Trump’s words.
“Since I took office, lifting the SALT cap has been a top priority for me. “I’m glad to hear that former President Trump feels the same,” Lawler said He wrote in X.
His Democratic opponent, former Rep. Mondaire Jonessaid that the two cannot be trusted.
“Don’t fall for this lie,” Jones said in a statement. “Donald Trump and Mike Lawler, who helped elect him, are the reason we put such a limit on the SALT discount. It was done to punish blue states like New York. And since he’s in Congress, Lawler has done nothing to fix it. We need a change.”
Rep. Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J., dismissed Trump’s remarks.
“President Trump swallowed SALT and raised taxes on hard-working, middle-class Jersey families. Now he wants to fix the problem he created? And without any specifics? A firefighter sounds like a volunteer firefighter,” Gottheimer said.
Republican lobbyist Liam Donovan wrote a meme to point out the irony, given that Trump was responsible for limiting the SALT deduction in the first place:
The idea would add more red ink to Trump’s already costly proposals. Committee to Fight the Debt for a Responsible Federal Budget is predicted Eliminating the SALT cap would increase the spending of the 2017 tax law extension by $1.2 trillion.
While Democrats in Congress want to expand the SALT deduction, Vice President Kamala Harris has not taken a position on it as a presidential candidate. His campaign had no comment when asked Tuesday.