SALT Deduction Fiasco

GOP’s Misguided Crusade

Blue-state Republicans—Reps. Elise Stefanik, Mike Lawler, Nick LaLota, Tom Kean, and Andrew Garbarino—are throwing a fit over the $30,000 SALT deduction cap, demanding a higher limit to coddle high-tax New Yorkers. Meanwhile, Reps. Claudia Tenney and Nicole Malliotakis sensibly accept the cap, noting it covers most of their constituents without blowing a good bill. Let me be perfectly clear: there is ZERO rationale for this deduction which is nothing but a pandering giveaway, an unearned freebie to high tax states who ludicrously moan that they give more money to Washington than they get back. This drama exposes the folly of government meddling in tax policy.

The SALT deduction, capped at $10,000 in 2017, fuels high-tax state budgets. Raising it, as these Republicans push, is fiscally reckless, with the Joint Committee on Taxation estimating a $100 billion hit over a decade. Lawler’s rants and LaLota’s bid to double the cap reek of political posturing, not principle. I’ve spoken to them personally—they know this isn’t good policy and is anti pro-growth; it’s a giveaway to affluent donors, diverting funds from broader tax reforms like flatter rates that could actually boost the economy.

The most interesting part is that I haven’t heard this bunch protesting the real culprit — high New York State taxes.

This retreat from fiscal sanity betrays the principles of limited government. The SALT cap was a rare and meaningful 2017 win—a curb on a regressive tax loophole. Now, Stefanik, Lawler, LaLota, and Garbarino are holding meaningful tax reform hostage in exchange for suburban brownie points. Only Malliotakis and Tenney seem to grasp the obvious: $30,000 is plenty.

If Republicans are serious about growth and liberty, they should stop pandering to Westchester elites and start pushing for tax policy that benefits everyone.