Democratic leaders say property owners are giving them an earful, complaining the Trump tax law that put a $10,000 cap on the so-called SALT deduction is hurting their tax returns.
“I think everybody expected this to be a tax cut, and then when we call them up and tell them they owe more, they’re surprised because it was sold as a tax cut. It’s not a good message to have to give to your clients,” said Ann Callari, CPA and partner at RotenbergMeril.
On Monday, federal lawmakers unveiled a bipartisan bill to fully restore the state and local tax deduction, aptly naming the act SALT.
“Which stands for Stop Attacking Local Taxpayers,” Sen. Bob Menendez said.
At a CPA firm in Bergen County, congressional leaders outlined benefits to the restoration using the earnings of a single mom making $100,000 a year, paying $14,000 in property taxes. Lawmakers say restoring SALT would save about $1,500 on her federal tax return. The bill offsets the cost by restoring the top tax rate to 39.6 percent, the level of top earners prior to the GOP reform.
“In 2016, 1.8 million, or around 40 percent of New Jersey taxpayers deducted their property and state income taxes, averaging $18,000 per deduction,” Menendez said.
