Key Vote NO on the SALT Marriage Penalty Elimination Act, H.R. 7160

On behalf of our activist community, I urge you to contact your representative and ask him or her to vote NO on the SALT Marriage Penalty Elimination Act, H.R. 7160. The SALT Marriage Penalty Elimination Act would increase the cap for the salt and local tax (SALT) deduction for joint filers from $10,000 to $20,000 for tax year 2023. 

As we communicated to the House Ways and Means Committee in 2017 during the consideration of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, FreedomWorks has a preference for eliminating the SALT deduction, as well as most other deductions, for which additional revenue could’ve been used to further lower tax rates. We accepted the existing cap as part of a tradeoff to get the tax package through Congress. 

Let’s be clear. The SALT deduction exists to effectively subsidize the tax burdens of certain states. In tax year 2014, fewer than 30 percent of tax filers itemized. In tax year 2017, 31 percent of tax filers itemized. Just under half of itemizers in tax year 2017 had an adjusted gross income (AGI) of $100,000 or more. Nearly 70 percent of the total amount itemized came from tax filers with an AGI of $100,000 or more. In tax year 2017, roughly 87 percent of the amount deducted via SALT came from those with an AGI of $100,000 or more. 

The states for which the SALT deduction was the most beneficial have also seen an exodus of people who have migrated to other states with friendlier tax policies. New York, for example, has seen a 3.1 percent decline in its population since 2020. Another example is California, which has seen a 1.4 percent decline. People are voting with their feet, and the result is the consequence of bad business and economic policies. Some, however, are demanding that Congress bail out these states from that and other consequences of bad policy.

Process also matters. As of this afternoon, the SALT Marriage Penalty Elimination Act hasn’t been marked up in the House Ways and Means Committee. The bill also doesn’t have a score from the Joint Committee on Taxation or the Congressional Budget Office. We know that the SALT Marriage Penalty Elimination Act will have an impact on the budget deficit and, should this bill become law, will become a priority for some Members to be extended in tax years 2024 and 2025, making the deficit impact even more significant. 

For these reasons, I urge you to call your representative and ask him or her to vote NO on the SALT Marriage Penalty Elimination Act, H.R. 7024. FreedomWorks will count the vote on our 2024 Congressional Scorecard and reserves the right to score and weigh any related votes. The scorecard is used to determine eligibility for the FreedomFighter Award, which recognizes Members of the House and Senate who consistently vote to support economic freedom and individual liberty. 

Sincerely,

Adam Brandon
President, FreedomWorks

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