Rep. Tom MacArthur (R, NJ-03) can claim a victory of sorts today, Save Jerseyans.
The much-anticipated House Republican tax reform bill unveiled Thursday permits taxpayers to write off up to $10,000 in state and local property taxes, easing many Garden State observer’s fears over the elimination of so-called SALT deductions.
MacArthur had spent countless hours in recent weeks lobbying Republican leaders and White House officials on the issue after initial discussions had indicated a total end to the popular deduction.
“There’s a lot of ways you could look at this, but one headline is we won,” MacArthur said in a Wednesday interview with NorthJersey.com. “To some degree this is now moving in a direction that is far better than a week ago.”
Most of MacArthur’s constituents will win out if the bill remains in its current form.
The average property tax bill in New Jersey was $8,549 in 2016; that average skews lower in MacArthur’s South Jersey district.
Not everyone in the N.J. delegation is on board.
“The elimination of state and local income tax deductions and the $10,000 cap on property tax deductions would be detrimental to New Jersey residents,” Rep. Frank LoBiondo (R, NJ-02) told USA Today. “This bill is not something I could support in its current form.”.
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