Is there anything better for Christmas than a bucket full of salt? Or as we call it when it comes to New Jersey, SALT?

That stands for the federal income tax deduction for State and Local Taxes, which is capped at $10,000 under the 2017 tax bill.

Last week, less than 24 hours after the impeachment vote, the House voted ever so slightly to eliminate the $10,000 cap, meaning that taxpayers would be able to deduct all their local taxes from their federal obligation, just like they did for years – until the 2017 bill came about.

This was not easy. Many obstacles needed to be hurdled,

Some on the left – most famously, or infamously, Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, claimed eliminating the cap would be a give-away to the rich, thereby putting Democrats in the embarrassing political position of catering to the well-to-do.

This argument truly misses the point. Given the high property values in New Jersey and the entire Metropolitan area, many homeowners pay $15,000 or more annually in property taxes alone. And they are not rich by any objective standard of wealth.

One understands that property values and taxes are much higher in New Jersey than just about anywhere else in the country, but that doesn’t transform middle class New Jersey residents into rich people overnight.

Another dissenting argument is that all this is the fault of local politicians, who are the ones who set property taxes in the first place. No one disputes the state’s high property taxes.

But as many have discovered, lowering them is not easy. It would take such things as consolidating towns or services, reducing services or totally reconfiguring the tax structure. Those who have watched politics for years in New Jersey understand that there is no political will, or even public support, to do any of that. My feeling long has been that many state residents like the services they get here even if they gripe about their cost.

However, the larger point is that state and local taxes were fully deductible up into the 2018 tax year. And since that changed, many state residents have been hurt.

Then, there’s simple “tribalism” at play, the contention that if Democrats are doing something, Republicans have to say it’s wrong. (Some Democrats, of course, do the same thing).

But let’s make an important thing clear. This really is a bipartisan issue. Five House Republicans from the northeast voted with the Democrats. That includes New Jersey Republican Chris Smith and Jeff Van Drew, who was transitioning from a Democrat to a Republican, when the vote took place.

Still, those inclined to read social media posts about the issue see a number of people on the Republican side of the aisle slamming Democrats. This is silly.

The vote aside, I spoke in the last two weeks with two Republican candidates in 2020. They were Stuart Meissner who is running for the U.S. Senate, and Larry Casha, who is running in Congressional District 11. Both volunteered that one of their goals was to eliminate the SALT cap.

Clearly, it’s time to put partisanship aside when an issue impacts many New Jersey residents.

One understands that the GOP Senate is not going to take this matter up. And if they did, the House action would be defeated.

But let’s not lose focus of the political point here.

Democrats, who won most congressional seats in the state last year, campaigned on eliminating the $10,000 cap. Mikie Sherrill in CD-11 even created a “12 Days of SALT,” campaign complete with props.

So, the vote to get rid of the cap is going to be a big selling point for New Jersey House Democrats in 2020.

That’s the message of last week’s action.