New Jersey's House members are urging the Biden administration and congressional leaders to include repeal of the cap on the state and local tax (SALT) deduction in the next coronavirus relief bill, The Hill reported. "Relief from the unfair and destructive SALT cap offers the precise breed of action our constituents, states, and localities will benefit from immediately," the lawmakers wrote in letters yesterday to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.). Every House member from New Jersey signed the letters, including the delegation's two Republican members: Reps. Chris Smith and Jeff Van Drew. Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.) highlighted the letters at an event in the state yesterday. Former President Trump's 2017 tax-cut law created a $10,000 cap on the SALT deduction. Most GOP lawmakers support the cap and have highlighted studies showing that repealing it would primarily benefit high-income households. But politicians in high-tax states such as New Jersey, New York and California have been highly critical of the SALT deduction cap, arguing that it hurts their residents as well as their states' ability to provide robust services to residents.
