Dems toil to save SALT following last-minute scare

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

As President Joe Biden huddled with his party’s centrists on Tuesday, he fielded a question from Rep. Josh Gottheimer about an issue that holds extraordinary sway among senior Democrats: relief for state and local taxes.

Biden’s response alarmed Gottheimer, soon sparking mass confusion and — once the gears began to turn — chaos among Democratic lawmakers, according to people familiar with the series of events.

The president suggested to the group of moderates that allowing more families to deduct their state and local taxes, known as SALT relief, may be left out of the party's final $2 trillion package entirely. The proposed changes could amount to thousands of additional dollars in tax refunds per year to residents of states with high property taxes, such as New York, New Jersey and California.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer was quickly pressed by House moderates on whether the SALT relief had been removed altogether. Within hours, Schumer was on the phone with White House officials, questioning whether Biden had cut out relief that’s a must for many members who represent the most affected states.

Some Democrats say Schumer’s personal intervention helped salvage the tax break, which has been a critical political priority for northeastern Democrats since GOP leaders slashed the tax benefit four years ago. Had Biden indeed axed the proposal in a meeting with a handful of House members, it would have been a major blow not just to a broad swatch of lawmakers, but also to Schumer as he seeks reelection.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/dems-toil-to-save-salt-following-last-minute-scare/ar-AAPLgJo

[unblock]

1. Oh goodie another "democrats in disarray" story

The media just loves to paint us as being in disarray.

As opposed to the chaotic mess that is the Republican Party, which is so warped they actually came out in favor of the virus during a pandemic.

[Hugh_Lebowski]

3. Of course, the other side has it a bit easier

When you're a bunch of rich white men, and your platform is basically 'Hey, rich white men, am I right!?!" it avoids a lot of complications.

[spooky3]

2. Dems need to take SALT reform seriously. It's not just states with high tax rates; it's also states

with moderate rates but higher incomes and higher property values, i.e., higher cost of living to live at the same level as people in "cheaper" states. Virginia and Maryland are two of these but not the only ones. It's not fair to pay more federal tax because it is not adjusted for differences in cost of living, and changing the Trump SALT penalty is one small step in the right direction. Dem voters are definitely watching this. Dems MUST win these states at state and federal levels.

[PoliticAverse]

4. SALT isn't about paying "more federal tax" it's about paying less.

Fairness would be everyone paying the same taxes to the federal government.

The SALT deduction primarily benefits the very rich, for obvious reasons.

[spooky3]

5. No. The entire federal tax system has a completely different philosophy from

yours, and it isn’t going away.

There are a lot of NOT rich, middle class taxpayers who are hurt by the SALT changes that Trump enacted precisely to harm blue state taxpayers. Democrats who ignore this unfairness do so at the risk of losing many votes.

[PoliticAverse]

6. If you believe that then support modifying SALT to only affect the rich by using an income cutoff.

Because going back to the way it was primarily benefits the 1%.

From: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/salt-break-would-erase-most-of-house-s-tax-hikes-for-top-1/ar-AAOykBk

About 57% of the benefit of a SALT cap repeal would go to the top 1% of earners, worth an average of $33,100, according to data compiled by the Brookings Institution. Restoring the full SALT deduction would cost the U.S. Treasury $88.7 billion in revenue for 2021 alone, according to the Joint Committee on Taxation, Congress’s nonpartisan scorekeeper.