Long Island Republicans sponsoring bill to repeal SALT cap
WESTBURY, L.I. -- Lawmakers have announced a new bill focusing on the so-called SALT cap.
They want to restore the deduction for state and local taxes.
"Our tax money is being taxed over and over again," Franklin Square resident Ellen Andrasick said.
It's double taxation, the octogenarian says. Andrasick can no longer deduct her state and local taxes, which are well above the $10,000 cap.
"I just feel what they have done to us really hurts, especially the middle class," she said.
The 2017 change forced high-taxed suburbanites to pay taxes upon their taxes.
RELATED STORY: House Of Representatives passes Build Back Better Bill that raises SALT deductions cap from $10,000 to $80,000
Now, Long Island's new Congressional delegation -- all Republicans -- say it's their mission to repeal the dreaded cap.
"This cap has financially devastated so many of our constituents," Rep. Andrew Garbarino said.
Garbarino, founder of the SALT caucus, says the timing is promising to right a wrong, along with representatives Nick LaLota and Anthony D'Esposito. Rep. George Santos was not invited.
"We like to refer to ourselves as the 'Long Island Three-ish,'" D'Esposito said.
They're sponsoring a bill to repeal the cap, optimistic that more House Republicans from impacted states will now appeal to their own party leadership, which created the cap.
"Blue states, New York, California, places like Oregon delivered big Republican wins, and I think that is really what is going to be the game changer," D'Esposito said.
"House Republican leadership respects our position, they respect our priorities, they take our bills very seriously and we intend to use that relationship," LaLota said.
If Congress does nothing, the cap expires in three years.
"So they're going have to deal with us sooner rather than later, so time is on our side and we are not budging," Garbarino said.
Some Democrats say it's past time for the deductions to be fully restored, adding don't forget how we got here.
"While I welcome the Long Island Three-ish to the cause, the reality is the only reason we have this tax burden ... is because of the Trump tax cut proposal, the Trump tax cut plan, and the Republican support for it," Democratic National Committeeman Robert Zimmerman said.
"It's going to have to be done on a bipartisan level. Don't forget that Democrats controlled the House, the Senate and the presidency last year and they couldn't even do it," Garbarino said.
The bill will be introduced this week then wind its way through Congress, possibly providing tax relief by Tax Day next year.
The bill has bipartisan support from 45 other members of Congress, including co-sponsor Democrat Josh Gottheimer of New Jersey.