Congress Is Prioritizing a Tax Break That Few Americans Will Claim
Data shows that even in wealthy congressional districts, the average person isn’t much affected by the state and local tax deduction lawmakers are trying to boost.
Most taxpayers don’t have enough deductions from $10,000 in SALT, mortgage interest write-offs and charitable donation tax breaks to itemize.
Photographer: Al Drago/BloombergTakeaways by Bloomberg AI
The state and local tax deduction — the subject of one of the most contentious fiscal fights in Congress — is a write-off that most Americans will never claim, even in the districts of the lawmakers fighting hardest to increase the tax break, data analyzed by Bloomberg News shows.
Congress will draft its multitrillion tax cut proposal in the coming weeks, and the priorities of a small minority of high-earning constituents in a handful of districts in New York, New Jersey and California will almost certainly be reflected in the final version.