The United States Congress is concerned about the basket funding fund of up to $3.5 billion in social, educational, and medical benefits enhanced by US President Joe Biden.
California is the most populous state in the United States, and therefore has a greater interest in what the final package will contain if approved.
On the other hand, the state has other plans of less elementary interest, especially in how it manages to finance itself with the help of SALT.
SALT stands for “state and local taxes.” A little over 4 years ago, Congress (at that time ruled by Republicans) and former Republican President Donald Trump, as a way of carrying out tax reform, were in charge of imposing a limit of $ 10,000 on the amount of SALT that the people were free to deduct on personal income tax forms.
The tax legislation of 2017 doubled the standard deduction as an attempt to compensate. In this regard, the two actions succeeded in raising federal taxes on high-income residents in high-tax states like California while at the same time reducing federal pressure on low- and middle-income taxpayers.
In 2018, a state study found that high-income Californians had to pay an additional $ 12 billion a year in federal taxes.
Leaders of the worst-hit states were outraged when the SALT cap was enacted and further claimed that Republicans took it upon themselves to punish them for their Democratic-leaning policy.
One of those who filed the most complaints about it was then-New York Governor Andre Cuomo, who said he was highly concerned and argued that the SALT cap would encourage the wealthy to move to low-tax states like Florida or Texas.
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However, there is still no evidence of a massive emigration of high-income Californians to other parts of the country. On the other hand, some companies have made specific moves, such as Elon Musk’s Tesla, which moved his factory to Texas, with no income tax.
A series of tax increases are required in the White House for corporations and high-income taxpayers, as well as enemies of the SALT ceiling, to see that they have a chance to undo it.
This is an extremely sensitive issue for Democrats, who want to change the limit without giving the impression of providing a windfall for the rich.
Some entities have been given the task of calculating all the possible ways the SALT limit could be modified, repealed, affect or benefit all those affected by it.