>
Article snippet: WASHINGTON — Even some House Republicans are railing against the proposed changes to deductions for state and local taxes that are part of the new House tax bill that was released this week. The proposal to change the state and local tax deduction, commonly known as SALT, has also ignited a backlash from Democrats and state governments. Conservatives call the deduction a boon for high-tax liberal-leaning states at the expense of low-tax conservative-leaning states, while Democrats said its elimination will hurt middle-class families. Here’s an assessment. President Trump, in an October interview with Fox News, characterized the state and local tax deduction as “unfair,” and argued that states like California and New York “really are being subsidized by states like Indiana and Iowa” — a point echoed by many Republican lawmakers and commentators this week. Under current law, taxpayers can deduct their state and local property taxes, as well as state income taxes or sales tax. The proposed House bill would eliminate the deduction for income and sales taxes, and would cap the deduction for property taxes. It’s true that the deduction is an indirect federal subsidy to state and local governments, and allows jurisdictions that impose high taxes to “export a portion of their tax burden to the rest of the nation,” according to the Tax Policy Center. But deductible state and local tax is just one type of federal assistance, and states that benefit the most from the provis... Link to the full article to read more