Gottheimer Praises New House Coronavirus Rescue, Relief, and Tax Cut Package

Praises Expansion of Testing, Vaccine Preparation, Supply Chain, Support of NJ Hospitals

GLEN ROCK, NJ – On May 12, 2020, U.S. Congressman Josh Gottheimer (NJ-5) praised the new U.S. House of Representatives coronavirus rescue, relief, and tax cut package released this afternoon, which reflects many of the priorities he has been urging publicly throughout recent weeks.

This new package includes a full reinstatement of the State and Local Tax (SALT) deduction for 2020 and 2021, something Gottheimer has been fighting for since the 2017 Tax Hike Bill gutted the deduction by sharply limiting to $10,000 our property tax and state income tax deductions and imposing an immediate and unwarranted tax hike on hard-working middle class New Jersey families and local businesses.

This week, Gottheimer urged Congressional leadership to provide meaningful relief to taxpayers across the nation through the elimination of the SALT deduction cap, which he cited could be accomplished in the near-term by eliminating the deduction cap for 2020 and 2021.

In early April, Gottheimer and the entire New Jersey House delegation came together to urge House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA-12) to include a lifting of the cap of the state and local tax (SALT) deduction in the next emergency relief package considered by the House.

“This is an anti-Moocher bill — it will get the hardest-hit families, like ours, immediate rescue and relief dollars and will fully reinstate SALT, giving Jersey a long-needed tax cut to invest back in our communities. It’s time to remind the Moochers that, from time to time, even they can look out for those in the direct eye of a storm,” Congressman Josh Gottheimer (NJ-5) said today.

“New Jersey continues to be one of the hardest-hit areas in our entire country. That’s why I’ve been fighting to get real tax cuts and economic assistance to help rescue Jersey families and businesses from this health and economic crisis, and making sure our state and local governments, hospitals, and frontline workers get the resources they need to continue keeping us safe at the epicenter of this storm,” Gottheimer continued. “Not only are our communities getting hit with COVID-19, but for years now New Jersey has been getting whacked with higher taxes — which is why I’ve been fighting to fully reinstate SALT and finally cut taxes for North Jersey. Our families, state and local governments, and hospitals and frontline workers need relief and assistance, and that’s exactly what I’m fighting for.”

Repealing the SALT deduction cap will provide immediate relief to New Jersey taxpayers. As reported by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP), state revenues are plummeting, whether sourced from income tax, property tax, sales tax, or other methods. The CBPP estimates that states will see a $500 billion shortfall in revenue over the next three years alone, not including strains on municipal budgets.

###