A persistent GOP fight over SALT deductions emerges as hurdle to Trump's 'big beautiful' tax bill

Wed, May 14, 2025, 8:47 AM 5 min read

House Republicans earlier this week confirmed plans to triple the national government’s authorities and section taxation (SALT) deduction from $10,000 to $30,000 for each but the highest earners, portion of their efforts to propulsion done President Trump’s "big beautiful" taxation bill.

But it was instantly rejected by a tiny but determined GOP "SALT caucus" that wants a higher level.

It has led to a days-long standoff and underlined a cardinal hurdle to Trump's bill, with tense closed-door meetings and sniping online arsenic the lawmakers effort to find a woody portion other sides of the Republican caucus propulsion successful antithetic directions.

"I was moving connected it up until to astir 1:30 [a.m.] past night," House Speaker Mike Johnson said Wednesday morning, saying helium was trying to beryllium a "neutral umpire successful the negotiations" betwixt the 2 sides but declining to connection immoderate details astir a imaginable compromise.

Johnson is contending with a tiny but determined radical of Republicans — galore of whom hail from New York —who are pushing for a higher deduction portion galore different Republicans stay ambivalent astatine champion astir taxation alleviation that tends to autumn disproportionately connected coastal states.

GOP New Yorker Rep. Nick LaLota — who is firmly successful the erstwhile radical and describes himself arsenic portion of the "most SALTY five" — summed things up to reporters Tuesday evening by saying if compromise isn’t recovered "I’m going to ballot ‘no’ connected the bill, and the measure apt won’t pass."

SALT is conscionable 1 of galore headaches for House Republicans trying to finalize their program for Trump’s bill, with 2 committee markups spanning the nighttime connected Tuesday into Wednesday connected 2 of the thorniest issues: taxes and an effort to find $625 cardinal successful savings from the wellness attraction programs.

That second proceeding adjacent saw arrests aft protests against imaginable Medicaid cuts broke out, according to a connection from the US Capitol Police.

It’s each portion of a analyzable dialog that spans everything from Trump's taxation priorities to a indebtedness ceiling summation to vigor policy. It each could effect successful Congress moving guardant with a program soon that would allow up to $2.8 trillion successful caller authorities borrowing.

Permanent implementation, added the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, could extremity up adding implicit $5.3 trillion to the nationalist indebtedness successful the years ahead.

The SALT proviso released Monday would rise the deduction to $30,000 for those with a modified adjusted gross income of $400,000 oregon less. For higher-income earners, the headdress would past signifier down and yet instrumentality to the existent $10,000 limit.