Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) claims if the state and local tax (SALT) deduction is reinstated it would send “a terrible, terrible message.”
Axios reporter Jonathan Swan noted during an interview that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) want to restore the SALT deduction, giving “a tax break for rich people in blue states.”
“It sends a terrible, terrible message,” Sanders said during the interview, which aired on Sunday.
He continued, “Ultimately what you have got to do, and in fairness to Schumer and Pelosi, it is hard when you have tiny margins, but you have got to make it clear which side you are on, and you can’t be on the side of the wealthy and powerful if you’re going to really fight for working families.”
Watch his comments below:
.@jonathanvswan: What if Dems reinstate “the SALT, which is a tax break for rich people in blue states?”@SenSanders: "It sends a terrible, terrible message…You can't be on the side of the wealthy and the powerful if you're gonna really fight for working families." #AxiosOnHBO pic.twitter.com/Ij20vg6VsA
— Axios (@axios) May 9, 2021
More and more lawmakers have recently expressed their opposition to the $10,000 cap on SALT deductions implemented in 2017 as part of former President Donald Trump’s tax legislation.
According to the nonpartisan Joint Committee on Taxation, removing the cap would cost around $88.7 billion in 2021 and even more in the coming years.
Last month, House Democrats from New York penned a letter to Pelosi and House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) saying they would not support future tax legislation that does not reverse the $10,000 cap.
“As members of the New York Congressional Delegation, we urge you to insist on full repeal of the limitation on the State and Local Tax (SALT) deduction passed by Congress in 2017 and signed into law by former President Trump,” they wrote.
The Democrats added, “This issue is so critical to our state and our constituents that we will reserve the right to oppose any tax legislation that does not include a full repeal of the SALT limitation.”
Seven Democratic governors also wrote a letter to the White House on the matter.
“Like so many of President Trump’s efforts, capping SALT deductions was based on politics, not logic or good government,” they wrote.
The governors continued, “This assault disproportionately targeted Democratic-run states, increasing taxes on hardworking families.”
