SALT must be part of budget reconciliation, say NJ officials

ENGLEWOOD, NJ – Gathered on the lawn of an Englewood resident feeling the pain of high taxes, four members of the New Jersey congressional delegation joined with Englewood Mayor Michael Wildes in letting the country know that Unless the State And Local Tax (SALT) deductions were reinstated as part of the upcoming budget reconciliation, they would not vote for it. Congressman Bill Pascrell, John Gottheimer, Mikie Sherrill and Tom Malinowski each spoke about the need to reverse the 2017 revocation of SALT.
Mayor Wildes described Englewood as a town of trees and the dormitory community of Wall Street, a town that had also been hit hard by the effects of Ida. âWe are very concerned about the future of our children and grandchildren. It is in our interest that the older ones hand over their keys to the younger generation and that has changed our community. We cannot be taxed and this dormitory community on Wall Street is in great danger if people cannot live affordably. As we see immigrants migrating south and passing through New Jersey, people will not stay here if they cannot afford to.
Owner Gerald Greif, a personal friend of Wildes, told officials Bergen County is experiencing an exodus of residents to cheaper places and unless something can be done more and more will leave the area. ‘State. âEvery year we haven’t put SALT in place and we continue to lose city dwellers to other states with less tax burdens than we have here. I know friends who are looking to relocate because it’s too expensive with the tax rates in Bergen County and other areas. I hope members of Congress will help claw back our tax breaks, which will help us a lot. “
Pascrell spoke, using the most heated rhetoric of any congressman. âThe average Bergen County homeowner pays $ 24,000 in taxes. We are here to fight for the average American. When the clowns that objected to what we’ve said from the start, as Josh would say, a lot of them are from Moocher States. They live off us. We pay some of the highest federal taxes as a state in the entire country. We are here to talk business. Pascrell said the 2017 tax cuts were aimed at Republican donors. âWe’re taking off the gloves, I’m telling you. “
Pascrell thanked the Mayors of Demarest, Englewood and Assembly Member Johnson for coming. âWe are here to put a human face on why we are fighting for the restoration of SALT,â Pascrell said. “For generations, the SALT deduction has been a lifeline for communities like Englewood.” The congressman said the SALT deduction has been around for decades and states need to be able to fund their own public services. âWhen I talk to the police, firefighters and educators, I like to talk to them about taxes. I like to set the record straight. They pay thousands more in taxes because they cannot deduct them from their federal income tax over $ 10,000. They never talked about raising taxes for these people when they got this âbig tax cutâ in 2017. Remember that? They tried to make the American people believe they would cut their taxes and we know where most of the money went in those cuts. I didn’t make it up, look at the numbers.
Continuing, Pascrell asked who would benefit more than the aforementioned groups he described? âNot only can teachers use their deductions, the police can no longer collect their taxes. Cities would have money to repair roads, hospitals and schools and help local taxpayers. Describing the 2017 tax cuts as a “disaster,” Pascrell said the long history of SALT deductions should be taken as a baseline for future discussions.
“In 2017, the Republicans stole SALT from us,” Pascrell accused. âTwelve main states have been affected. There are other people in all other states who claim this deduction on federal income tax day. They stole SEL from us in New Jersey which pays some of the highest taxes in the country and they bragged about it! Look at their own words. The SALT cap they created came from mischief and nowhere else!
Pascrell said that when it comes to Biden’s Build Back Better plan, Democrats would have the budget fully funded. “We have a tax reform in this legislation that we did not have in 2017.” Pascrell said that even though the Republicans âcut your taxesâ rather than being rewarded, âthey lost their jobs in 2018! It was their reward because they lied to the American people⦠This four-day marathon in a hall budgeting was not pleasant.I was angry about it. [Republicans] I lied so much I could barely sit still, you can imagine in this room going over that budget, listening to that bullshit they threw at us in 2017 like it was the best thing next to a cure for it. the cancer.
The Congress veteran said, âRestoring SALT is restoring the middle class. And their arguments against Biden’s legislation said how important it is for police, firefighters and teachers to be protected, the same people they fucked in 2017. In 2017, around 42% of New Jersey taxpayers two million people, deducted their state and local taxes, averaging over $ 19,000 per household. “It’s for the rich and the lucrative” is their hymn that has no words. Over 81% of those who deducted SALT earned less than $ 200,000.
Pascrell said police, firefighters and teachers’ unions are supporting the reinstatement of SALT deductions because their members have seen how the caps hurt their members. On the House floor, Pascrell said he voted twice to repeal the SALT cap, where it was passed by the lower house. âThe House did its job, the McConnell Senate killed the legislation every time. What do they have against New Jersey? There is no better rebuilding and no rebuilt America without a restored SALT deduction. Period. âPascrell then held up a letter from the International Association of Fire Fighters of September 13, supporting the reinstatement of SALT deductions.
“I am honored to be here with these three other members of Congress”, the representative of the 9e said the neighborhood. They went to battle. Pascrell wore his helmet.
âWe have two clear messages,â Gottheimer said. The first was to keep New Jersey residents in the state, and jobs and communities to make the state affordable. âNumber two: we are here to reiterate our clear position. We will only vote for a House floor reconciliation package that reinstates the SALT deduction. As I’ve been saying for months, no SALT, no dice.
Gottheimer described SALT as an “existential threat” to New Jersey because while residents love their state, “they seek some relief. By reinstating the SALT deduction, we can reduce their taxes and allow moms and dads to re-deduct their state and local taxes. This is a fight against the Moocher States and what the Red States did to us in 2017 when they took away the SALT deduction with a disastrous $ 10,000 cap. This has a major negative impact in each of our districts. Gottheimer said before the cap that Bergen County had an average SALT deduction of more than $ 20,000 per year. âTheir taxes went up after the 2017 tax bill, not down. Gottheimer described his fellow congressmen as a “SALT response team” fighting back. âWe are now the number 1 emigration state in the country and those who live in New Jersey are finding it increasingly difficult to pay their bills. He warned that the exodus would also take away the talents and hardworking residents the state needs. âFor comparison, in Alabama, the average tax rate is $ 580 per year. Try to offer what we do in New Jersey for $ 580 a year. You couldn’t do it.
âIf we reinstated the SALT deduction,â said Gottheimer, âthe average saving per taxpayer would be $ 2,090, that would also be a 1.7% increase in disposable income. Almost a third of New Jersey residents would benefit from tax relief. “
Mikie Sherrill then spoke and said, âI am proud to stand with my colleagues today and make it clear that we are standing up for the relief of SALT for families in New Jersey. It is an issue that affects teachers, firefighters, first responders and families who work every day in my district. “
Sherrill said repealing the SALT deduction cap has been a âtop priorityâ for her since her election in 2018, a year after the 2017 tax bill was passed. âWe finally have an opportunity to deliver. The repeal of the SALT deduction cap is a must and it is clear that there is no way forward for the Build Back Better Act without it. Sherrill said the SALT cap was “a punishment” for New Jersey residents and that 54% of CD 11 residents had taken the SALT deduction in the past. She also thanked Senator Bob Menendez for his support in the upper house.
Malinowski offered his support, echoing his fellow Congressmen, saying: “Any budget reconciliation bill that will raise the highest individual tax rate for my constituents must also address the SALT deduction.” He said budget reconciliation was âhistoricâ and represented huge opportunities to effect the necessary changes, including providing funding at state and local levels to tackle the effects of climate change. The deduction, however, must be included. âWe cannot vote until SALT is restored. At the end of the line.
Congressman Gottheimer’s statement that he and his allies would not vote for the reconciliation budget without SALT’s reestablishment had parallels with his “line in the sand” on the bipartisan infrastructure bill. On Tuesday, August 24, Gottheimer’s office in Glen Rock was visited by dozens of protesters as well as supporters when the CD 5 congressman made it clear that he and his bipartisan problem-solver caucus wanted the draft bipartite infrastructure law be passed before budget reconciliation. For a short time, everything seemed on the line given the fairly slim majority in the Democratic House, but in the end Pelosi relented rather than risk a breakup. This gave Gottheimer a victory lap and virtually secured passage of the two massive pieces of legislation. This is, of course, provided that the SALT deduction is entered in the reconciliation.
Once again, Gottheimer has found himself able to capitalize on what he and his allies Pascrell, Sherrill, and Malinowski deem essential for Garden State owners. They know very well that the president’s budgetary reconciliation is a political imperative to be adopted and they are convinced that it will be. Doing so would represent a significant victory for New Jersey Democrats in the House, Gottheimer in particular, as well as for those who feel pain in their pockets every time taxes are due.
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