The Stop Attacking Local Taxpayers (SALT) Act of 2019 fully restores the SALT deduction, which has been part of the tax code since the federal income tax was created in 1913. It also restores the top individual income tax rate at 39.6%, the rate at which upper income was taxed prior to passage of the Trump Tax Law. Rammed through the Republican-controlled Congress on a party-line vote in December 2017, the Trump Tax Law gave huge tax breaks to the super rich and giant corporations, while hiking taxes on the middle class and capping SALT at $10,000. This is the first tax-filing season under the new law, which went into effect for the 2018 tax year.

The SALT deduction allows taxpayers to write-off taxes paid at the state and local level from their federal income tax bill so they won’t be subject to being taxed twice on the same dollar. In addition to helping families avoid double taxation, the SALT deduction supports the ability of communities, cities, and states to raise their own revenues and fund critical investments in public education, infrastructure, social services, and public safety.

In 2017, about 30% of taxpayers claimed the deduction, and more than 80% of those filers earned under $200,000—middle class in high cost-of-living states. In New Jersey, 1.8 million or 40% of taxpayers deducted their local property and state income taxes in 2016, the last year the data is available, averaging $18,000 per deduction.

According to a recent survey by the New Jersey Society of Certified Public Accountants (NJCPA) of more than 300 CPAs in the state, more than 63% said their individual and family clients earning less than $200,000 will see their federal tax bill rise as a result of the SALT cap. Nearly 70% said the SALT cap would definitely or somewhat influence their advice to clients on whether to leave New Jersey. One CPA said, “I had a client who earns $60,000 and she lost $2,500 of refund compared to 2017. Another said, “It seems that Trump did not understand or fully appreciate the affect this would have on middle class taxpayers in high tax states like N.J.”