Rep. Chu Votes to Restore SALT Deduction for Middle Class

Washington, DC — The House of Representatives today voted to restore important tax cuts for the middle class that were stripped out of the tax code by Republicans in their 2017 Tax Scam. H.R. 5377, the Restoring Tax Fairness for States and Localities Act of 2019, eliminates the $10,000 limit on the state and local tax (SALT) deduction for 2020 and 2021 and it eliminates the marriage penalty for 2019 to allow married couples filing jointly to claim a SALT deduction of $20,000. The bill also increases the existing above-the-line deduction for teachers' out-of-pocket classroom expenses from $250 to $1000 and establishes a new $1000 above-the-line deduction for the unreimbursed out-of-pocket work expenses of professional first responders. These provisions are paid for by restoring the top marginal income tax rate from 37% to 39.6%. Rep. Judy Chu (CA-27) issued the following statement:

"Nobody should be taxed twice. This is the principle behind the state and local tax (SALT) deduction. And it has been incredibly successful at helping millions of middle class families afford homes while supporting local governments that struggle to provide important services like education, public safety, and infrastructure. But by capping SALT, Republicans effectively raised taxes on millions while forcing states and localities to choose to either raise taxes or cut services.

"Since the Republicans passed their tax cuts for the wealthy, we have seen how these cuts have made the richest richer while the rest of us foot the bill. Today is the culmination of over a year of work to restore these vital deductions and restore fairness to our tax code."