Congressman Kim Votes to Pass Bill to Restore the SALT Deduction,
Help New Jersey Families

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Congressman Andy Kim (NJ-03) voted to pass H.R. 5377, the Restoring Tax Fairness for States and Localities Act, which would provide much needed tax relief for New Jersey families by restoring the state and local tax (SALT) deduction for 2020 and 2021.

“Acting to restore the SALT deduction is long past due,” said Congressman Kim. “New Jersey families know that our taxes are too high because it’s a reality they struggle with every day. The 2017 tax law didn’t just take away the SALT deduction, it took money out of the pockets of New Jersey’s working families. Today’s vote is an important step to fix that, and I’m going to keep fighting until the job is done.”

The bill would provide tax relief by eliminating the marriage penalty by doubling the cap to $20,000 for joint filers for 2019. The bill would also fully restore the SALT deduction for 2020 and 2021.

In a recent survey conducted by New Jersey Society of Certified Public Accountants’ (NJCPA) to more than 500 CPAs, an average of 36 percent of their clients paid more in federal taxes in 2018. The vast majority of those claiming the deduction in New Jersey and across the nation are middle-class households. In 2016, 40% of New Jersey taxpayers deducted their local property and state income taxes. Those households averaged $18,000 per deduction and over 80% of those who filed, earned less than $200,000.

Earlier this year, Congressman Kim helped introduce the SALT Act, which would restore the full deduction taxpayers previously had prior to the tax bill passed during the last Congress. Congressman Kim also testified before the House Ways & Means Committee, the House Committee responsible for tax policy, to call on Congress to act on this critical issue.

###