Sen. Bernie Sanders sharply criticized the Democrats’ push to repeal the $10,000 state and local tax deduction cap for federal income taxes, something that Democratic leadership in both chambers supports, arguing that it benefits the wealthy.
“It sends a terrible, terrible message,” Sanders, an independent who caucuses with the Democrats, said in an interview on Axios on HBO.
“You have got to make it clear which side you are on, and you can’t be on the side of the wealthy and powerful if you’re going to really fight for the working families,” Sanders said.
NEW YORK HOUSE DEMOCRATS PRESS FOR REPEAL OF SALT DEDUCTION CAP
Republicans put a cap on the SALT deduction in their 2017 Tax Cut and Jobs Act in order to offset cuts and other changes that the bill made to the federal tax code. The cap especially hit those in high-tax states such as New York, New Jersey, and Illinois.
.@jonathanvswan: What if Dems reinstate “the SALT, which is a tax break for rich people in blue states?”@SenSanders: “It sends a terrible, terrible message…You can’t be on the side of the wealthy and the powerful if you’re gonna really fight for working families.” #AxiosOnHBO pic.twitter.com/Ij20vg6VsA
— Axios (@axios) May 9, 2021
“We were crushed by the SALT cap. I think it was completely political by the last federal administration,” New Jersey Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy said on March 31.
Seventeen of 19 House Democrats from New York vowed on April 13 to oppose any federal tax legislation that maintains a cap on the state and local tax deduction.
“The full SALT deduction is a matter of fundamental fairness in avoiding double taxation of the same income and was a fundamental part of the income tax system since its inception in 1913,” the Democrats said in a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Majority Leader Steny Hoyer.
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New York Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Kathleen Rice did not sign on to the letter.
