Physical Address
304 North Cardinal St.
Dorchester Center, MA 02124
Split GOP to lift lid SALT
Rep. Mike Lawler, R-NY, joins ‘Sunday Morning Futures’ to discuss Trump’s meeting with blue-state Republicans on lifting the SALT cap and New York’s congestion pricing.
President-elect Donald Trump is giving Republicans his blessing to negotiate a key tax that could prove critical to GOP negotiations for a massive overhaul of conservative policy next year.
Trump met several different groups of House Republicans at Mar-a-Lago over the weekend, including blue-state Republican lawmakers who make up the House SALT Caucus — a group that opposes the current $10,000 cap on state tax deductions and premises (SALT) that mainly affect urban and suburban residents. in areas with high income and property taxes, such as New York, New Jersey, and California.
“I think it was productive and successful,” Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, RN.Y., said of the meeting. “The president supports our efforts to increase the SALT deduction. He understands that mayors and governors in blue states are crushing taxpayers and wants to provide relief from the federal level.”
JOHNSON DESCRIBES DEM’S ACCUSATIONS THAT HE BROUGHT TO END OBAMACARE AS ‘DISHONEST’
President-elect Donald Trump told New York Republicans he would work with them on a number of priorities (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
But Trump also noted that he was aware of opposition from others in the House GOP conference, particularly Republicans from rural districts, who have seen the SALT deductions as tax breaks for the wealthy. Before the cap was imposed in 2017, there was no limit to how much state income and local property taxes people could deduct from their income when filing their federal returns.
“It gave us some homework to work with, a number that could provide our middle-class constituents with relief from the high taxes imposed by our governor and mayor, and at the same time, you know, something that can build consensus and reach to (a majority of 218 votes),” Malliotakis said.
“I think we pretty much know it’s not going to be a full lifting of the SALT cap. There’s no appetite in Congress or even among American taxpayers to cut taxes for the ultra-rich.
“Our efforts are really aimed at middle-class families, and that’s what we’re focusing on to try to strike the right balance.”
The current SALT deduction limit has been opposed New York and California lawmakers for much of its existence, since it was carved into the Trump Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA).
RFK JR. TO MEET DEM’S SWEET, INCLUDING ELIZABETH WARREN, BERNIE SANDERS
Rep. Nicole Malliotakis told Fox News Digital that Trump would work with New York Republicans on congestion pricing (Drew Anger/Getty Images)
Trump suggested he would change course during his second administration as early as September of last year, when he posted on Truth Social that he would “bring back SALT, lower your taxes and more.”
The discussions are part of broader talks by Republicans about passing a massive overhaul of fiscal and conservative policy through a process known as “reconciliation.”
By lowering the Senate threshold to a simple majority instead of two-thirds, the process allows the party that controls both houses of Congress and the White House to pass certain legislation as long as it deals with budget and other fiscal issues.
Some Republicans in favor of the SALT deduction, such as Rep. Mike Lawler, RN, had indicated they might withhold support for the final bill if it did not raise the cap.
“The only red line I have is if there’s a tax bill that doesn’t raise the SALT cap, I wouldn’t support it,” Lawler said on Fox News’ Sunday Morning Futures.
Lawler also said Trump agreed that the SALT deduction limits needed to be increased.
House Republicans have virtually no margin for error with a razor-thin majority from Trump’s inauguration until probably April.
Rep. Mike Lawler called SALT deduction limits a “red line” in his support for a budget reconciliation bill (Tierney L. Cross)
Meanwhile, Trump also told New York Republicans that he would help them fight his state’s controversial congestion pricing rule which is an added cost to drive to parts of Manhattan.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
“He understands how unfair this is and how it would affect the city’s economy and the people we represent, so we are currently working with him on legal options to reverse the Biden administration’s rubber stamp,” he said. say Malliotakis. “If there’s a legal option, if there’s a legal option for it to stop congestion pricing, it will.”
“You have, you know, cops, cops, firemen, nurses, restaurant workers who have to come in at odd hours and drive because they don’t think the transit system is clean or safe.”
Congestion pricing went into effect in New York City earlier this month.
Fox News Digital reached out to Trump’s transition team for comment on this weekend’s meeting.
