General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: I think the Democrats could have held the House if they had repealed the GOP Tax [View all]DFW
(54,055 posts)Not allowing the deduction of state and local taxes from federal gross income is the equivalent of double taxation. Unfortunately double taxation goes on in many places. It's not just a Republican invention, although this particular version is typical of them, tailored to hit people in blue states hardest. People in states like NY and NJ, who get hard with local taxes, are surely eager to have the Trump axing of their deductions repealed. Not doing so is a mistake, in my humble opinion. If someone makes $100,000 in a costly part of New York or NJ, and they pay a total of 10%, i.e. $10,000, in local taxes, they should be taxed federally on $90,000, i.e. what they have left after paying local taxes, not on $100,000, because that means they are paying federal taxes on the $10,000 that their state of residence already took from them. That just isn't right. It mostly penalizes people who live in nice states to live in (blue states, e.g.).
At least you have Senators and Congresspeople you can write to about it. We Americans Abroad (9 million of us, after all, 6 million of voting age--about a middle ranking if we were a 51st state, except with no representation at all) have no champions at all, and some of us are in the dubious position of being double taxed (I'm about 67%, for example) with no one in DC who gives a rat's ass until it comes time to ask us for contributions. The fact that I have to earn three times gross pay for any contributions I make gets an "oh, really?" from the Democrats in Congress I know. Only CCM of Nevada has even offered to follow up. But they are ALL there with their hands outstretched for contributions at election time, you can be sure of that!