Mnuchin says GOP overhaul raised his taxes

Mnuchin said that, despite his residence in Washington, D.C., he pays taxes in New York and California, where he lived before joining the administration.

But Mnuchin would not answer a follow-up question as to whether he saw an increase in his federal tax rate, rather than his combined federal, state tax rate.

“I’d have to look at that,” said Mnuchin.

The 2017 tax reform law capped the federal deduction for state and local taxes paid, or SALT, at $10,000 per year. That led to a de facto tax increase for some taxpayers in states or municipalities with higher income or property tax rates, like New York, California, and New Jersey. Lawmakers from those states have pushed to undo that change. Mnuchin, an investor and former banker, is worth $300 million, according to Forbes, and is eligible for a $210,700 salary in his cabinet position.

Mnuchin later said that he is watching how the SALT cap affects high-income states.

“These economies are a large component of U.S. growth, so it’s something that we’re monitoring closely,” he said. Mnuchin also acknowledged that President Trump suggested that he was open to revisiting that part of the law. “The president has made some recent comments that he’s aware of it,” he said.

However, Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, recently declared that issue closed.

Mnuchin also said he did not know if Trump saw a cut to his own taxes.

“I’m not aware of the president’s tax situation,” Mnuchin responded when asked.

Mnuchin declined to say whether he would cooperate with a congressional request for Trump’s returns to review how he may have benefited from the law. Under an over 90-year-old law, the heads of Congress’ tax-writing committees can request tax return information from the Treasury Department.

Mnuchin told the committee he would consult with his department’s lawyers upon receiving any request for Trump’s tax returns.