House Republicans from high-tax states are demanding changes to the state and local tax, or SALT, deduction cap as a condition for backing President Donald Trump's legislative package, setting up a pivotal meeting Wednesday with Speaker Mike Johnson as GOP leaders race to complete their budget deal, The Hill reported.
House Republicans aligned with the SALT Caucus will meet Wednesday with Johnson, R-La., and Ways and Means Committee Chair Jason Smith, R-Mo., to demand relief from the $10,000 cap on state and local tax deductions — a significant obstacle in their negotiations over Trump's legislative priorities.
The meeting, scheduled for 4:30 p.m., is the first formal discussion on SALT since the House entered the final stage of budget reconciliation.
Several Republicans from states such as New York, New Jersey, and California have clarified that they will not support the Trump-backed package unless the deduction cap is raised.
"As I've said repeatedly, this is a top priority for me. So it is imperative that there be a SALT fix in the bill, period," said Rep. Mike Lawler of New York. "Either it's going to be fixed or it's not. And if it's not, I ain't voting for the bill."
Rep. Nick LaLota, another New York Republican, said that for him, increasing the deduction cap is nonnegotiable.
"Yeah, I'm all in on the SALT provision," LaLota said. "My folks didn't just send me here for my great, good looks; they sent me here to fight for SALT, and I intend to win that fight."
LaLota said he expects House leaders to offer a proposed cap figure in the meeting but declined to give his preferred number.
"I think that we all want to hear each other's logics about why it is that our numbers are what they are," he said.
Smith, who will attend the meeting, called it "the speaker's meeting" and said his role is to listen. "I've given the SALT caucus all of the various information so that they know how different numbers affect their districts," Smith said.
The SALT cap was enacted initially under the 2017 Trump tax cuts. Lawler has introduced legislation to raise the cap to $100,000 for single filers and $200,000 for joint filers. LaLota has proposed a more modest increase: $15,000 for individuals and $30,000 for married couples.
The push to lift the cap, however, is drawing opposition from fiscal conservatives who warn it could derail the goal of passing a deficit-neutral package.
"Maybe it's just because I don't want to subsidize high-tax, blue-state jurisdictions," said Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, a member of the House Freedom Caucus. "Maybe it's because I can do math. … If you lift the cap to $100,000 that'll be how much? Over a trillion dollars."
Penn Wharton estimates a full repeal of the cap would cost $1.2 trillion.
Johnson is trying to strike a balance.
"We're gonna continue doing what we've been doing, and that's building consensus around a solution, and that's gonna be an important conversation tomorrow," the speaker said.
Johnson hopes to the bill put in its final form next week and schedule a House vote by the end of May.
Jim Thomas ✉
Jim Thomas is a writer based in Indiana. He holds a bachelor's degree in Political Science, a law degree from U.I.C. Law School, and has practiced law for more than 20 years.
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