Maryland’s recently elected U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen is leading the charge to protect a tax deduction popular in Maryland. So far, efforts have failed to preserve the state and local tax deduction, however.
The National Association of Counties urges Counties to advocate to preserve the state and local tax deduction (SALT) to protect against double taxation. NACo portrays eliminating the exemption a shift of revenues from local and state governments. The Honorable Roy Charles Brooks, President of NACo states,
Eliminating SALT to pay for tax reform efforts would reverse more than 150 years of national tax policy and constitute a $1.3 trillion federal revenue grab. That’s $1.3 trillion less in our residents’ pockets to support local services our communities need.
For more information, see America’s Counties and Middle-Income Taxpayers Need SALT
Senator Chris Van Hollen has been leading the charge to preserve the SALT deduction. As described on Congressman Van Hollen’s website,
About 45 percent of all Maryland taxpayers utilize that state and local income deduction – that’s the highest percentage in the country. Nearly 1.3 million Marylanders took advantage of the SALT deductions in 2015, reducing their taxable income by an average of $9,010 per individual, according to IRS data.
As reported by the Baltimore Sun, the first attempt to preserve the deduction failed,
The Republican-controlled Senate voted 52-47 to reject an amendment that would have prevented the Senate from considering any bill that repeals or limits the deduction as part of a planned tax overhaul.
For more information, see Van Hollen leads unsuccessful first effort to preserve tax deduction popular in Maryland from the Baltimore Sun.
From Senator Van Hollen’s newsroom, the Senator states the issue is not a partisan one,
“This deduction helps millions of people in Maryland and across the country – and getting rid of it will hit the pocketbooks the middle class families the hardest. It also would tie the hands of state and local governments, which provide critical services in every community across America. This is not a partisan issue, and I urge my colleagues to support this amendment.”
For more information see Van Hollen, Cantwell Introduce Amendment to Ensure Tax Fairness, Protect Middle Class from Being Taxed Twice on Their Paychecks
