Representative George Santos may not be well liked by his colleagues or constituents, but his first bill in Congress deals with something wildly popular in his district on New York's Long Island — the state and local tax deduction.
Santos, a New York Republican notorious for falsifying his resume, education, religion and family history, introduced legislation Tuesday that would increase the SALT deduction to $50,000. Expanding the SALT write-off, which was capped at $10,000 in President Donald Trump's 2017 tax overhaul, has been a
Increasing the state and local tax deduction would mean that homeowners in states like New York, New Jersey and California could get bigger breaks on their Internal Revenue Service bills — an issue that's on the minds of many Americans as they begin filing their annual tax returns.
The SALT question is unlikely to get a House vote this year, with Republicans, who largely oppose increasing the deduction, controlling the chamber. That would deprive Santos of a chance to bolster his support in a district, where, according to one poll, nearly
This bill likely won't ingratiate Santos, 34, with his colleagues in the House, where
Representative Nick LaLota, another Long Island Republican, who has called for Santos's ouster, said he would reject the SALT proposal, despite supporting increases to the cap.
"Let's not pretend anything George Santos does is serious," he said. "There's great ideas about SALT. They're not going to come from George Santos."
Santos's bill is one of three introduced so far in this Congress to amend or abolish the SALT cap.
A measure by Representative Mike Garcia, a California Republican, would eliminate the cap and make it retroactive — allowing taxpayers to claim the full value of the deduction on past returns as if the cap never existed.
Another, by Representative Michael Lawler, a New York Republican, would double the cap to $20,000 for a married couple, eliminating what he calls the "SALT marriage penalty."
This is the first legislation Santos, who also represents part of the New York City borough of Queens, has introduced since being sworn in two months ago. He's also signed on as a co-sponsor on 27 bills, including a bill making the AR-15 the national firearm of the US, a bill banning federal funds for schools that allow transgender athletes to participate in women's sports, and a bill to mint a coin honoring service dogs.
— With assistance from Samantha Handler
