Change would roll back key provision from former president’s 2017 tax law. Former President Donald Trump posted on his social network that he ‘would get SALT back’—a reference to the $10,000 cap on the state and local tax deduction. PHOTO: JUSTIN SULLIVAN/GETTY IMAGES
WASHINGTON—Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump suggested Tuesday that he wanted to reverse—not extend—a crucial piece of the tax law he signed in 2017.
A day ahead of a rally planned Wednesday on New York’s Long Island, Trump posted on his Truth Social network that he would “get SALT back,” a reference to the state and local tax deduction that Trump and Republicans capped at $10,000 per return. That cap, along with other major pieces of the law, is scheduled to expire at the end of 2025, making it part of a complex negotiation that the next president and Congress will navigate.
The tax falls disproportionately on upper-income residents in high-tax blue states, such as New York, and the cap is particularly unpopular on Long Island. Democratic-leaning New York itself isn’t particularly competitive in the presidential election, but the results in the state’s congressional races could tip the balance of power in the House.
Trump’s campaign didn’t offer any additional details. This latest tax-cut offer would reduce federal revenue by up to $1.2 trillion over a decade, according to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, on top of $4 trillion for extending expiring tax cuts and more than $2 trillion in Trump’s promises to end taxes on tips, Social Security benefits and overtime pay.
But repealing or relaxing the SALT cap isn’t like other tax cuts, and the issue creates unusual partisan and geographic coalitions.
Many Republicans support keeping the cap, because it raises money to pay for other tax cuts and because it forces residents of high-tax states to bear the full cost of state taxes.
