The Republican tax plan’s provision capping the state and local tax deduction at $10,000 could devastate school funding, leading to pressure on states and cities to reduce taxes to make up for the loss of the federal tax deduction. It’s a Republican plan aimed right at states with high enough taxes to do things like fund schools—for now. But, while capping the SALT deduction would hit a few big blue states the hardest, they wouldn’t be alone. Education Week looks at the data:
- As you might expect, the deductions are worth the most in relatively high-tax states, although not exclusively. In fact, "Six states—California, New York, New Jersey, Illinois, Texas, and Pennsylvania—claim more than half of the value of the deduction," said the Tax Foundation, a think tank, in a report from earlier this year.
- However, where taxpayers do take them, the deductions also are relatively high in some states controlled by Republicans, including Iowa and Wisconsin.
- Utah and Georgia are two GOP-run states where a relatively high share of individuals take the deductions.
- There's no state where a majority of taxpayers take the state and local deductions. Maryland is the state where the largest share of taxpayers claim those deductions, at 46 percent, according to the Government Finance Officers Association.
So, yeah. This will hit blue states like California, New York, New Jersey, and Illinois … but also swing states like Pennsylvania, Iowa, and Wisconsin and red states like Texas, Utah, and Georgia. But most of all, it will hit public education—and the children who need it.
Call your senators and representatives at (202) 224-3121. Tell them to vote "no" on the Republican tax bill.