09/06/2018

Ryan Planning Tax 2.0 Vote This Month

House GOP leaders are still planning a vote on a second round of tax cuts this month

House GOP leaders are still planning a vote on a second round of tax cuts this month, despite the potential conflict for House Republicans running close races in high-tax blue states this fall.

The “Tax 2.0” package would make permanent all the individual tax changes in last year’s Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), including a $10,000 cap on state and local tax deductions. The SALT cap, which under the TCJA is set to expire in 2025, raised an outcry in certain high-tax states like California, New York and New Jersey. Democrats in those states have made the SALT cap a campaign issue, arguing that the provision will cost their constituents billions in annual tax deductions.

House Republicans clearly believe they have enough members to pass a second round of tax cuts without the support of GOP lawmakers from high-tax states who voted against the TCJA last year. Several Republican legislators have gone on record this week to voice their displeasure with the SALT cap.

“I will not vote for anything that makes the SALT cap permanent,” said Rep. Peter King (R-NY) to Bloomberg this week. “Others I have spoken to feel the same way. They are more against it now than they were last November and December.”

Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady (R-TX) said his panel will start marking up the new tax bill next week.

Even if Tax 2.0 is approved in the Senate, it faces long odds in the Senate where it would need Democratic support.

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