Congress appears poised to raise SALT cap as part of Trump tax bill. Here's the latest.
It looks like a tentative deal has been brokered on Capitol Hill to provide a new SALT cap, increasing the state and local tax deduction from $10,000 to $40,000.
But whether that will be enough to placate homeowners remains to be seen. On Long Island, residents are waiting for details on whether President Trump's $3.8 trillion tax break bill will be salvaged.
The battle over the SALT cap
After more than a century, SALT deductions were capped in 2017. The deductions have historically softened the blow of high housing costs, allowing teachers, firefighters, and other middle class workers to maintain a foothold in Long Island communities.
"This is not a thing for rich people. Long Island pays some of the highest property taxes in the country. Not having the ability to deduct that fully is hurting so many middle-income families here," said Mike Florio, CEO of the Long Island Builders Institute.
House Republicans Nick Lalota and Andrew Garbarino and Democrats Laura Gillen and Tom Suozzi told the Long Island Association they are united in their push to raise or abolish the $10,000 cap. And until then, Long Island GOP lawmakers will be holdouts, saying they won't push through Mr. Trump's sweeping tax bill.
"We've got some courageous Republicans who have been standing up and saying we won't vote for this deal unless we get the state and local income tax back," Suozzi said.
Suozzi is proposing at least $80,000 or a full repeal.
"The president came to their meeting and they have been getting a lot of pressure from a lot of folks and saying just take the deal the way it is, to increase the cap from $10,000 to $40,000. That's kind of where it stands right now," Suozzi said.
"I want them to just get rid of it"
Ben and Michelle Urso, recently retired West Babylon health professionals, decided they could no longer afford to live on Long Island, but a grandchild eventually came along and they decided to stay put.
"The SALT deduction was a big thing for us," Ben Urso said. "It's still hard to survive. We made decent money."
"We were going to move. We had a builder picked out," Michelle Urso said. "Our costs have gone up at least 50%."
The heated debate over double taxation and fairness continues.
"I want them to just get rid of it," Michelle Urso said of the cap.