The president appeared to call for reinstating the state and local tax (SALT) deduction that he restricted to $10,000 per filer in his tax law. Many Republicans oppose that idea.

Sept. 17, 2024, 2:55 PM PDT
By Sahil Kapur

WASHINGTON — Donald Trump called for rolling back part of his signature tax law Tuesday, suggesting he would seek to reinstate the state and local tax deduction, commonly known as SALT, that he controversially capped in the 2017 legislation.

In a Truth Social post ahead of his trip to New York’s Long Island, the former president wrote that he would “get SALT back” and “lower your Taxes” if he returns to the White House in January.

Trump didn’t elaborate or get specific. But the statement appears to be the first time that Trump has called for rolling back a piece of his biggest legislative achievement, a law that he has also called for extending next year when major portions of it are set to expire.

The 2017 law capped the previously unlimited federal deduction for state and local taxes at $10,000 per filer. The policy hit hardest for Americans in high-tax blue states — especially New York, New Jersey and California — who itemize their deductions. Democrats, who represent most of those areas, fiercely objected at the time, accusing the GOP of using tax policy to wage a culture war. Some Republicans in those states also say the $10,000 cap should be lifted.

Trump’s comment marked the latest in a series of seemingly impulsive policy comments that have turned heads within his party. Most Republicans oppose an expansion of the “SALT” deduction and have criticized Democrats for pushing to lift the $10,000 cap.

“I’ve always been for eliminating the cap on SALT. I think it was a nasty piece of legislation supported by Donald Trump aimed at the blue states,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said Tuesday when asked by NBC News about Trump's remarks.

Schumer has vowed that if he’s still majority leader next year, he will ensure the SALT cap expires at the end of 2025.

Despite Trump’s comments, it’s far from clear a Republican-led Congress would lift the SALT cap. Earlier this year, a group of House Republicans blocked their party from allowing a vote pushed by New York GOP members to expand the SALT deduction.

Ryan Ellis, a conservative tax policy adviser, said it would be “horrible” policy to reinstate the SALT cap, saying that the revenues it raised “paid for a lot of rate cuts” in the 2017 law.

“Keeping $10k is fine. Dealing with the marriage penalty is fine,” Ellis said in a text message. “Uncapping? A huge tax cut for the rich that gets you no economic growth.”

Ellis said Republicans have been debating tweaks to the law and that he hopes Trump “would land where the conversation in the House has progressed, which is positive for everyone and is rational.”

Asked by NBC News for details of his plan, the Trump campaign did not offer any. Campaign spokesperson Karoline Leavitt provided a broad statement saying, “President Trump is seeing America’s working men and women getting crushed by Kamala [Harris]’s out of control inflationary policies. While his pro-growth, pro-energy policies will make life affordable again, President Trump is also going to quickly move tax relief for working people and Seniors.”

Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., a first-term congressman seeking re-election in a competitive district, praised Trump’s remarks.

“Since taking office, lifting the SALT cap has been a top priority for me. I am glad to hear that former President Trump now feels the same way,” Lawler wrote on X.

His Democratic rival, former Rep. Mondaire Jones, said the two can’t be trusted.

“Don’t fall for this lie,” Jones said in a statement. “Donald Trump and Mike Lawler, who helped elect him, are the reason we even have a limitation on the SALT deduction. It was done to punish blue states like New York. And since he’s been in Congress, Lawler hasn’t done anything to fix it. We need a change.”

Rep. Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J., dismissed Trump’s remarks.

“President Trump gutted SALT and raised taxes on hardworking middle class Jersey families. Now he wants to fix the problem he caused? And without any specifics? Sounds like the arsonist volunteering at the fire department," Gottheimer said.

Republican lobbyist Liam Donovan tweeted a meme to mark the irony, given that Trump was responsible for restricting the SALT deduction in the first place:

The idea would add more red ink to Trump's already costly proposals. The anti-debt Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget projected that eliminating the SALT cap would raise the cost of extending the 2017 tax law by $1.2 trillion.

While congressional Democrats want to expand the SALT deduction, Vice President Kamala Harris has not taken a position on it as a presidential candidate. Her campaign had no comment when asked Tuesday.