SALT Deductions

Floor Speech

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Ms. SHERRILL. Madam Speaker, I am proud to be rising today alongside so many of my colleagues to declare loudly that the time has come to finally address the State and local tax deduction cap for families that have been slapped with this double tax for 4 long years.

In States like New Jersey, we pride ourselves on making the investments necessary to sustain our top-tier public schools, invest in infrastructure and open spaces, and support a prevailing wage for our unions. That is why people move to my State. That is why families stay for generations.

But when the SALT deduction cap imposed by the 2017 Trump tax bill instituted, our ability to keep making those key investments was threatened.

The SALT deduction cap affects residents in every corner of my district. It impacts families made up of teachers, first responders, and public servants.

For my constituents and millions of taxpayers throughout the country, the bottom line is you don't have to be a millionaire to be impacted by SALT. The simple fact is that it has imposed a harmful double tax and has created one of the largest marriage penalties in the Federal tax code.

With the SALT cap in place, States and localities face increased pressure to cut back on important investments in priorities like education, prevailing wages, infrastructure, environmental protections, and services for seniors. Those investments became harder to make when the Federal Government decided to tax New Jersey families twice. This means that more New Jerseyans' money is going to the Federal Government, instead of being invested in our local communities.

The result will be less spending over time on these priorities, which would be a detriment to ensuring our economy works for everyone.

I have been fighting since my first day in office to repeal the SALT deduction cap. I have helped secure passage of a repeal twice in this very Chamber. And I feel confident that so many of my colleagues understand this issue and why it is critical that we repeal it; largely because of the work and advocacy of the Members who are speaking here tonight.

But we need to keep up this fight for our constituents. As we head into crunch time on infrastructure negotiations in Congress, now is the time to deliver relief for families across New Jersey and States around the country that are disproportionately impacted by this harmful double tax.

Last week, I launched an initiative back in New Jersey, declaring it the Summer of SALT, to make it clear that we will do everything in our power to make it happen. There simply isn't another option for New Jersey families.

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Ms. SHERRILL. Sure. So as you know, the people in my district pay State and local taxes, and that is what funds our great public school system. New Jersey has the best public school system for 2 years running in the Nation; types of things like that, services that our New Jersey families care so much about. And now the Federal Government is taxing that money. So you are getting taxed twice in New Jersey, to really put downward pressure on our ability to fund those great public services.

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Ms. SHERRILL. Exactly.

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Ms. SHERRILL. Yep. Exactly.

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Ms. SHERRILL. And now not able to deduct that.

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