White House National Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow on Wednesday said that he doesn’t think President Trump’s 2017 tax-cut law will be reconsidered, after the president expressed openness to revisiting a provision in the measure.
“I don’t expect to see the tax reform opened up,” Kudlow said at an event hosted by The Christian Science Monitor.
Trump said in an interview in February that he would be open to revisiting the tax law’s $10,000 cap on the state and local tax (SALT) deduction. Later that month, the president met with New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) — a prominent opponent of the cap who argues that it’s hurting his state’s residents and finances — and discussed the SALT deduction cap and other issues.
Kudlow said that he was in the meeting with Cuomo and understands concerns that certain parts of the country may be hurt more by the SALT deduction cap than others. But he also noted that there are some people who were subject to the alternative minimum tax before the tax law was enacted but aren’t now. Those people essentially weren’t able to get a benefit from the SALT deduction before and can get a deduction of up to $10,000 under the 2017 law.
“Now, that may not solve the problem to everyone’s satisfaction, I understand that, but that’s there and a lot of people overlook that,” Kudlow said.
Kudlow also said that he’d like to see states and cities lower their tax rates.
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) has said he doesn’t plan to revisit the SALT deduction cap, noting that repealing the cap would largely benefit high-income taxpayers.
But many Democrats in high-tax states, as well as a small number of Republicans in those areas, have said they want the SALT deduction cap to be raised or eliminated.
A group of Democrats on the House Ways and Means Committee met Wednesday to discuss the SALT deduction cap and to hear from stakeholders about how the cap has been negatively affecting individuals and groups.
“We’re just starting the process, trying to figure out where we can go to provide some relief,” Rep. Mike Thompson (D-Calif.), the chairman of the Ways and Means Committee’s tax subcommittee, told reporters after the meeting.