2021: Fitzpatrick Voted Against Increasing The Annual Cap On The
Deduction For State And Local Taxes From $10,000 To $80,000 For Tax
Years 2021 Through 2030. In November 2021, Fitzpatrick voted against
the Build Back Better act which would, according to Congressional
Quarterly, "temporarily increase from $10,000 to $80,000 the annual
cap on the deduction for state and local taxes for tax years 2021
through 2030." The vote was on passage. The House passed the bill by a
vote of 220-213. [House Vote 385,
11/19/21; Congressional
Quarterly, 11/19/21;
Congressional Actions, H.R.
5376]
2021: Fitzpatrick Effectively Voted Against A Manager's Amendment To
The Build Back Better Act, Which Would Increase The Raised Annual Cap To
$80,000 On State And Local Tax Deductions For 2021 Through 2030 And
Reinstate The Cap To $10,000 In 2031. In November 2021, Fitzpatrick
voted against the adoption of the rule which would, according to
Congressional Quarterly, "provide for automatic adoption of a Yarmuth,
D-Ky., manager's amendment to HR 5376 that would increase from $72,500
to $80,000 the raised annual cap on the deduction for state and local
taxes for tax years 2021 through 2030, but reinstate the original cap of
$10,000 in 2031." The vote was on the adoption of the rule. The House
adopted the rule by a vote of 221-213, thus the manager's amendment was
automatically adopted. [House Vote 372,
11/6/21; Congressional
Quarterly, 11/6/21;
Congressional Actions, H.R.
5376;
Congressional Actions, H.Res.
774]
2021: Fitzpatrick Effectively Voted Against A Manager's Amendment To
The Build Back Better Act, Which Would Increase The Raised Annual Cap To
$80,000 On State And Local Tax Deductions For 2021 Through 2030 And
Reinstate The Cap To $10,000 In 2031. In November 2021, Fitzpatrick
voted against the motion to order the previous question on the rule
which would, according to Congressional Quarterly, "provide for
automatic adoption of a Yarmuth, D-Ky., manager's amendment to HR 5376
that would increase from $72,500 to $80,000 the raised annual cap on
the deduction for state and local taxes for tax years 2021 through 2030,
but reinstate the original cap of $10,000 in 2031." The vote was on a
motion to order the previous question. The House agreed to the motion by
a vote of 221-213. [House Vote 371,
11/6/21; Congressional
Quarterly, 11/6/21;
Congressional Actions, H.R.
5376;
Congressional Actions, H.Res.
774]
2024: Fitzpatrick Effectively Voted To Increase The State And Local
Tax Deduction. In February 2024, Fitzpatrick voted for , according to
Congressional Quarterly, "adoption of the rule (H Res 994) that would
provide for floor consideration of the SALT Marriage Penalty Elimination
Act (HR 7160) and the resolution (H Res 987) denouncing the Biden
administration's energy policies. The rule would provide for up to one
hour of debate on each bill." The vote was on the rule. The House
rejected the motion by a vote of 195 to 225. [House Vote 48,
2/14/24; Congressional
Quarterly, 2/14/24;
Congressional Actions, H.Res.
994;
Congressional Actions, H.R.
7160]
2017: Fitzpatrick Voted For The Final Version Of Trump's Tax Reform
Plan, Which Substantially Cut Taxes For Rich Americans And Corporations,
And Significantly Lowered The State And Local Tax Deduction. In
December 2017, Fitzpatrick voted for the Tax Cut and Jobs Act, also
known as Trump's tax reform bill. According to Congressional Quarterly,
"This Conference Summary deals with the conference report on HR 1, Tax
Cuts and Jobs Act, which the House will consider Tuesday. The agreement
significantly cuts corporate and individual taxes and seeks to simply
the tax code, although most individual tax provisions would expire after
2025. It reduces the corporate tax from 35% to 21% and reduces taxation
of so-called 'pass-through' businesses where profits are taxed at the
individual rate. For corporate taxes it also establishes a 'territorial'
tax system that exempts most overseas income from U.S. taxation. Most
individual tax rate rates would be reduced, including by dropping the
top rate from 39.6% to 37%, and it eliminates personal exemptions but
nearly doubles the standard deduction so fewer taxpayers will itemize
deductions." The vote was on passage. The House passed the bill by a
vote of 227 to 203. The Senate later passed a slightly modified version
of the bill, which the House later agreed to. President Trump later
signed an amended version of the bill into law. [House Vote 692,
12/19/17; Congressional
Quarterly, 12/18/17;
Congressional Actions, H.R.
1]
Bill Capped The State And Local Tax Deduction At $10,000, For
Individuals Or Married Couple. "You can deduct just $10,000 in
state, local and property taxes: One of the most controversial parts
of the GOP tax plan is the push to greatly scale back how much state
and local taxes Americans can deduct on their federal income taxes.
Under current law, the state and local deduction (SALT) is
unlimited. In the final GOP plan, people can deduct up to $10,000
(married couples are also limited to just $10,000). [...] The
move is widely viewed as a hit to blue states such as New York,
Connecticut and California, and there are concerns it could cause
property values to fall in high-tax cities and leave less money for
public schools and road repairs." [Washington Post,
12/15/17]
The State And Local Tax Deduction Is Effectively A Subsidy For
Local Services. According to the Center on Budget and Policy
Priorities, "Second, the SALT deduction helps state and local
governments fund public services that provide widely shared
benefits. That's because, with this deduction, higher-income filers
are more willing to support state and local taxes. Repealing the
deduction would almost certainly make it harder for states and
localities --- many of which already face serious budget strains ---
to raise sufficient revenues in the coming years to invest in
high-quality education, infrastructure, and other priorities crucial
to the nation's long-term economic prospects. State borrowing costs
could also rise as bond rating agencies react to the reduced
capacity of states to raise adequate revenue, making needed
infrastructure projects more expensive. States and localities could
also respond by raising taxes or fees that fall less heavily on the
higher-income residents most affected by the deduction's loss. That
would push more costs to middle- and low-income people, and make
state and local tax systems even more regressive overall than they
already are." [Center on Budget Policy Priorities,
10/24/17]
2017: Fitzpatrick Effectively Voted To Repeal The State And Local Tax
Deduction For Income Taxes. In December 2017, Fitzpatrick voted
against a motion that, according to Congressional Quarterly,
"instruct[ed] conferees to disagree with the Senate amendment that
would repeal the individual health insurance mandate, and to recede from
the section House bill that would eliminate the deduction for state and
local income taxes through 2025." The vote was on a motion to instruct
the conference committee on the tax reform bill. The House rejected to
the motion by a vote of 186 to 233. [House Vote 654,
12/4/17; Congressional
Quarterly, 12/4/17; Congressional
Actions, H.R.
1]
2019: Fitzpatrick Voted For Restoring The State And Local Tax
Deductions, Lifting A $10,000 Limit Put In Place By The Trump Tax
Reform Bill. In December 2019, Fitzpatrick voted for a bill that
would, according to Congressional Quarterly, "would reduce or eliminate
the existing $10,000 cap on federal tax deductions for state and local
taxes, which was established under the 2017 tax law, for tax years 2019
through 2021. Specifically, it would double the cap to $20,000 for
married couples filing a joint tax return for tax year 2019, and it
would eliminate the cap for tax years 2020 and 2021. As amended, the
bill would retain the cap for taxpayers whose adjusted gross incomes
exceed $100 million in a taxable year. As an offset, the bill would
increase the top individual income tax rate from 37% to 39.6% and it
would reduce the corresponding income thresholds at which the top tax
bracket applies." The vote was on passage. The House passed the bill by
a vote of 218-206. [House Vote 700,
12/19/19; Congressional
Quarterly, 12/19/19;
Congressional Actions,
H.R.5377]
Restoring The SALT Deductions Was A Top Democratic Priority,
Though The Move Was Largely Symbolic. According to Congressional
Quarterly, "House Democrats dealt a symbolic blow to Republicans'
tax code overhaul Thursday on the two-year anniversary of that
law's passage [...] [the bill] would make good on a top
Democratic tax priority: lifting a $10,000 limit on state and local
tax deductions, known as SALT." [Congressional Quarterly,
12/19/19]
The Bill Allowed Taxpayers To Write Off The Full Cost Of SALT And
Doubled The SALT Deduction Limit For Married Couples. According to
Congressional Quarterly, "The bill would generally give taxpayers a
two-year reprieve on the deduction limit Republicans imposed as part
of their 2017 tax code overhaul. Taxpayers would be able to write
off the full cost of state and local taxes when they file 2020 and
2021 federal returns. The measure would also double the SALT
deduction limit for married couples on 2019 returns."
[Congressional Quarterly,
12/19/19]
Joint Committee On Taxation: The Bill Would Provide $61 Billion
In Tax Cuts, With 59% Of The Total Benefit Going To Households That
Earn More Than $500,000. According to Congressional Quarterly,
"According to the Joint Committee on Taxation, in 2021 the total tax
cut under the combined effect of removing the SALT cap and raising
the top rate would be $61 billion. Of that figure, about 59 percent
of the total benefit would flow to households earning more than
$500,000, who would get an average tax cut of about $18,000. For
millionaire households, the average tax cut jumps to nearly
$32,000." [Congressional Quarterly,
12/19/19]
Congressional Quarterly: The Bill Disproportionately Benefited
High-Tax States, Which Democrats Believed Would "Even The Score"
After the GOP Tax Bill Imposed The SALT Cap "To Punish Blue
States." According to Congressional Quarterly, "The benefit is
unevenly distributed among the states, however. According to a study
by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, just three
states --- New York, New Jersey and California --- would see nearly
59 percent of the benefit. Those three states have 21 percent of the
U.S. population, according to census data [...] Democrats said the
bill would simply even the score with the 2017 tax law, which cut
taxes for households in lower-tax states while raising them on their
own constituents. Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., told reporters
earlier that Republicans imposed the SALT cap in order 'to punish
blue states.'" [Congressional Quarterly,
12/19/19]
The Bill Increased The Top Marginal Tax Rate From 37 Percent To
36.9 Percent To Make Up For Lost Revenue. According to
Congressional Quarterly, "To make up for the bill's estimated
$184.5 billion drain in federal revenues over the coming decade,
the measure would increase the top marginal tax rate for individuals
from 37 percent to 39.6 percent --- the same level that existed
before the GOP tax overhaul. That rate would effectively become
permanent, while the SALT cap would return in 2022 under the bill."
[Congressional Quarterly,
12/20/19]
Republicans Included A Provision That Prevented Households Earning
More Than $100,000 Million From Claiming Unlimited Deductions.
According to Congressional Quarterly, "in a rare procedural
victory, House Republicans won approval of an amendment that would
prevent households earning more than $100 million from claiming
unlimited deductions. Democratic managers of the bill initially
resisted the move, but then agreed to accept it. [Congressional
Quarterly, 12/20/19]
The White House Threatened To Veto The Bill If It Passed The
Senate. According to Congressional Quarterly, "The White House
issued a veto threat this week, saying in a statement that the bill
'would force all Federal taxpayers to subsidize a tax break for the
wealthy.' The Statement of Administration Policy also said the
increase in the top marginal rate would 'stifle economic growth by
placing an undue burden on thousands of small businesses.'"
[Congressional Quarterly,
12/19/19]
Center For American Progress Opposed The Bill, Stating That It
Would "Overwhelmingly Benefit The Wealthy" And "Waste The
Opportunity To Invest In Other, More Progressive Priorities.
According to the Center for American Progress, "While [the] Tax
Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) was fundamentally misguided and needs to be
overhauled, fully repealing the SALT deduction limit would cost
hundreds of billions of dollars in revenue and overwhelmingly
benefit the wealthy, not the middle class [...] H.R. 5377 offsets
the substantial revenue loss from repealing the SALT cap for 2020
and 2021 by restoring the pre-TCJA top individual tax rate of 39.6
percent and lowering the income thresholds above which the top rate
applies. Yet dedicating that revenue to repealing the SALT cap would
waste the opportunity to invest it in other, more progressive
priorities." [Center for American progress,
12/10/19]
Center On Budget And Policy Priorities Also Opposed The Bill, As
It Would Benefit The Wealthy And Ultimately Would Not Address The
"Two Central Flaws" Of The 2017 Tax Overhaul. According to the
Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, "By itself, repealing the
SALT cap would overwhelmingly benefit high-income households, since
most low- and middle-income taxpayers don't face the SALT cap. In
addition, paying for repeal by raising the top rate would use up a
source of progressive revenue that would no longer be available to
fund other, more critical priorities. As a result, the Ways and
Means bill would not address two central flaws of the 2017 tax law
overall: its steep cost and its heavy tilt toward wealthy
individuals and profitable corporations. [Center on Budget and
Policy Priorities,
12/10/19]
2019: Fitzpatrick Effectively Voted For An Amendment That Provided An
Exception To The Bill's Elimination Of The $10K Cap On Federal Tax
Deductions For State And Local Taxes, So The Cap Would Only Apply To
Incomes Over $100 Million. In December 2019, Fitzpatrick voted for a
motion to recommit the SALT restoration tax bill to the House Ways and
Means Committee that would, according to Congressional Quarterly,
"report it back immediately with an amendment that would make an
exception to the bill's elimination of the $10,000 cap on federal tax
deductions for state and local taxes, such that the cap would still
apply for taxpayers whose adjusted gross incomes exceed $100 million in
a taxable year. It would double to $1,000 the tax deductions
established by the bill for professional development costs for teachers
and first responders." The vote was on a motion to recommit. The House
agreed to the motion by a vote of 388-36. [House Vote 699,
12/19/19; Congressional
Quarterly, 12/19/19;
Congressional Actions,
H.R.5377]