Readers Write: A SALT compromise worth considering

The Island Now

Two House Representatives from Illinois have suggested what I believe is a fair compromise between the current SALT deduction limit of $10,000 and outright repeal of the cap, which many New York representatives in Washington are pushing for.

Abbreviated from their press release:

“Representatives Lauren Underwood (IL-14) and Sean Casten (IL-06) introduced legislation to provide tax relief to Illinois families unfairly harmed by changes to the State and Local Tax (SALT) deduction. The Republican tax law enacted in 2017 disproportionately hurt northern Illinoisans by capping the SALT deduction at $10,000. The SALT Fairness for Working Families Act would help affected taxpayers by increasing the current SALT deduction cap, eliminating the marriage penalty, and adding an inflationary adjustment.

Nearly 2 million Illinois households claim the SALT deduction. Specifically, the SALT Fairness for Working Families Act would:

1. Increase the current cap on SALT deduction from $10,000 to $15,000 for individual filers. This will allow taxpayers in the 14th District making up to $200,000 to once again deduct their full SALT amount.

2. Eliminate the marriage penalty currently inherent in the Republican tax law by allowing people who are married and filing jointly to double their deduction up to $30,000. This will provide additional relief to the approximately 90 percent of filers in the 14th District of Illinois who file joint tax returns and are currently limited to the $10,000 cap afforded to individual filers.

3. Adjust the cap for inflation so the value of the deduction does not decrease over time.

This, I believe, would provide relief to the lower and middle-wage earners who were ensnared by the $10,000 limit. It comes as no surprise these two particular Illinois representatives should come forward with this: both represent districts in Chicago’s suburbs, which mirrors Nassau’s profligacy when it comes to fiscal management. In fact, only Chicago in particular, and Illinois in general, are worse than us.

Hopefully, our representatives in Washington will go for this compromise as opposed to recklessly threatening to upend the Administration’s entire economic program for the sake of those who live with five-acre zoning.

For now, as a negotiating ploy, I would understand demanding the maximum, which is full repeal. But full repeal is not warranted, and hopefully, they’ll have the good sense to accept this format, or something close to it, to align tax policy with the administration’s objectives.

Donald Davret

Roslyn

TAGGED: Donald Davret, SALT
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