SALT deduction

China and children; memories of McCain; building a practice’s brand; and other highlights from our favorite tax bloggers.

Taxpayers in New York and Connecticut still have a few potential options to avoid the hit from a new cap on state and local tax deductions, while residents of other high-tax jurisdictions may only have creative estate planning as a last resort.

The IRS is blocking the charitable workarounds high-tax states like New York approved in response to the tax law’s $10,000 limit.

The Internal Revenue Service put the tri-state area on notice: The charitable workarounds New York, New Jersey and Connecticut approved following the new federal cap on deductions for state and local taxes aren’t acceptable to the federal government.

Republicans thought the historic overhaul that slashed taxes would be one of their main campaign selling points ahead of November elections. Instead, Democrats are talking more about the law — and how they want to undo it.