House Republicans from New York failed to gather enough support to advance a tax bill that would raise the cap on state and local tax deductions for high-income married couples.
The bill, introduced by Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY), died during a procedural vote on Wednesday afternoon, with 18 House Republicans opposed. Lawmakers from high-tax states have long sought to lift the cap on state and local tax, or SALT, deductions, but Republicans wary of subsidizing blue-state governments voted against the measure, as did Democrats.
Current law imposes a $10,000 cap on SALT deductions, enacted under former President Donald Trump in 2017. Lawler’s bill, the SALT Marriage Penalty Elimination Act, would raise the deduction limit to $20,000 for married couples earning up to $500,000 a year. The limit change would be temporary, starting after Dec. 31, 2022, and before Jan. 1, 2024.
The cap would drop back to $10,000 the next year. Under the current law, the $10,000 limit will sunset in 2025.
“I am frustrated that today’s procedural vote on a SALT relief bill I co-sponsored failed to pass in the House after it faced opposition from New York Democrats and their allies who are hellbent on scoring political points at the expense of Empire State taxpayers,” Rep. Anthony D’Esposito (R-NY) said in a statement after voting to advance the SALT legislation. “I will continue fighting to provide New York neighbors with the SALT relief they deserve.
New York Republicans had secured an agreement to vote on the measure in exchange for voting for legislation to increase the child tax credit and reinstate expired business investment deductions.
Although the bill had some bipartisan backing, it was ultimately not enough to move forward.
“This majority is so incompetent they couldn’t even manufacture a fake vote to pretend New York Republicans are good at legislating. They just lost their sixth rule vote this congress after a half-assed fix to SALT (a problem they created in the first place) failed. Embarrassing!” Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA) wrote on X after the vote.
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Many Democrats from states like New York and California favor raising the cap in principle, but much of the party also opposes legislation to do so on the grounds that it would primarily benefit higher-income earners.
The battle over SALT deductions became a central issue in New York’s special election, in which Democrat Tom Suozzi defeated Republican Mazi Pilip to fill former Rep. George Santos’s seat. Suozzi, who represented the district from 2017 to 2023, pledged to defeat the SALT cap in recent debates.
