GOP split on lifting SALT cap
Rap. Mike Lawler, R-NY, joins ‘Sunday Morning Futures’ to discuss Trump’s meeting with blue state Republicans on removing the SALT cap and NYC congestion pricing.
President-elect Donald Trump is giving his blessing to Republicans to negotiate a key tax that could prove critical to the GOP’s negotiations for sweeping conservative policy reforms next year.
Trump met with a diverse group of House Republicans at Mar-a-Lago over the weekend, including GOP lawmakers from blue states who make up the House SALT Caucus — a group that opposes the current $10,000 cap on the state and local tax (SALT) deduction. . Affects primarily urban and suburban residents in areas with high incomes and property taxes, such as New York, New Jersey, and California.
“I think it was productive and successful,” Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, RN.Y., said of the meeting. “The President supports our efforts to increase the SALT deduction. He understands that mayors and governors in blue states are crushing taxpayers and wants relief from the federal level.”
Johnson blasts accusations that he vowed to end Obamacare as ‘dishonest’
President-elect Donald Trump told the New York Republican he would work with them on several priorities (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
But Trump also signaled he was aware of opposition from others in the House GOP conference, particularly rural district Republicans, who saw the SALT deduction as a tax break for the wealthy. Before the cap was imposed in 2017, there was no limit on how much state income and local property taxes people could deduct from their income when filing a federal return.
“He gave us some homework to work on, a number that could relieve our middle class constituents from the high taxes imposed by our governor and mayor, and at the same time, you know, something that could build and achieve consensus. is [a 218-vote majority]Malliotakis said.
“I think we pretty much know that he’s not going to lift the SALT cap entirely. There’s no appetite within Congress or even among American taxpayers to cut taxes for the super-wealthy.
“Our efforts are really targeted at middle-class families, and that’s what we’ve focused on trying to strike the right balance.”
Since being enshrined in Trump’s Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), the current SALT deduction cap has been opposed by lawmakers in New York and California for most of its existence.
RFK JR. To meet with some people including Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders
Rap. Nicole Malliotakis told Fox News Digital that Trump will work with New York Republicans on crowdfunding. (Drew Anger/Getty Images)
Trump suggested he would change course during his second administration in early September of last year, when he posted on Truth Social that he would “get SALT back, cut your taxes and do a lot more.”
The discussions are part of broader talks by Republicans about making sweeping fiscal and conservative policy changes through a process known as “reconciliation.”
By lowering the Senate’s threshold for passage to a simple majority instead of two-thirds, the process allows the party in control of both houses of Congress and the White House to pass certain legislation, provided it deals with budgetary and other financial matters.
Some pro-SALT deduction Republicans, such as Rep. Mike Lawler, RNY, has indicated he may withhold support for the final bill if the cap is not raised.
“The only red line I have is that if there’s a tax bill that doesn’t remove the cap on SALT, I won’t support it,” Lawler told Fox News’ Sunday Morning Futures.
Lawler also said that Trump agreed that the SALT deduction cap needed to be increased.
House Republicans have virtually no room for error with a razor-thin majority until Trump’s inauguration, likely in April.
Rap. Mike Lawler said the SALT deduction cap is a “red line” for his support on the budget reconciliation bill. (Tierney L. Cross)
Meanwhile, Trump also told New York Republicans he would help fight his state’s controversial congestion pricing law that charges extra to drive through parts of Manhattan.
Click here to get the Fox News app
“He understands how unfair this is and how it will affect the city’s economy and the people we represent, and so we are currently working with him on legal options to reverse the Biden administration’s rubber stamp,” Maliotakis said. . “If there is a legal option, if there is a legal option for him to prevent congestion pricing, he will.”
“You have, you know, cops, cops, firefighters, nurses, restaurant workers who have to go at odd hours, and they drive because they don’t think the transportation system is clean or safe.”
Congestion pricing went into effect in New York City earlier this month.
Fox News Digital has reached out to the Trump transition team for comment on this weekend’s meeting.
