The GOP tax plan, state and local taxes deductions – and you

The following article by Capri Cafaro, Executive in Residence at American University, was posted on the Conversation website December 7, 2017:

The Capitol is seen at dawn on October 30, 2017, in Washington. Credit: AP/J. Scott Applewhite

While Washington is claiming victory, states are crying foul.

Late last week, the U.S. Senate passed its version of the tax reform package that cleared the House a few weeks earlier. Within the hundreds of pages of legislative language in each bill lay a number of provisions that have significant impact on state governments, including modifications to the state and local tax deduction.

Under current tax law, individuals who choose to itemize and deduct eligible expenses on their federal tax return are able to deduct state and local income, sales and property taxes. Both the House and Senate billseliminate the so-called “SALT deduction” for state and local taxes while capping the property tax deduction at US$10,000.

As a former Ohio state senator, I served on the Senate Ways and Means Committee for a number of years. I also went through five state budget cycles over 10 years. Because of that experience, I believe the federal changes to the SALT deductions will be detrimental to American families and have long-term negative impacts on balancing state budgets. Continue reading “The GOP tax plan, state and local taxes deductions – and you”

Senate GOP to Delay Corporate Tax Cut, Repeal ‘SALT’ Deduction

The following article by Joe WIlliams and Niels Lesniewski was posted on the Roll Call website November 9, 2017:

White House counselor Kellyanne Conway and North Dakota Sen. John Hoeven at a news conference in the Capitol on Tuesday. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call file photo)

Updated 5:25 p.m. | Senate Republicans proposed Thursday to delay a corporate tax cut for one year and fully repeal the deduction for state and local taxes, taking a different approach than the House on overhauling the tax code.

The plan highlights released by the Senate Finance Committee show shared goals with the House bill advanced by the Ways and Committee on Thursday. Both would provide tax cuts at all income levels, slash the corporate rate from 35 percent to 20 percent, and expand benefits for families with children. For multinational companies, the proposals would shift to a new territorial tax regime.

But the mechanisms for achieving such goals are different.

Unlike the House bill, the Senate proposal would keep seven tax brackets for individuals. The brackets would be adjusted to 10 percent, 12 percent, 22.5 percent, 25 percent, 32.5 percent, 35 percent and 38.5 percent, according to Sen. John Hoeven of North Dakota. The House bill has four brackets of 12 percent, 25 percent, 35 percent and 39.6 percent. Continue reading “Senate GOP to Delay Corporate Tax Cut, Repeal ‘SALT’ Deduction”