Trump fails to convince SALT caucus to back tax bill

 President Donald Trump failed during a visit Tuesday to Capitol Hill to sway key House Republicans from blue states to drop opposition to a major tax bill, which they say does not go far enough in boosting so-called SALT deductions for their constituents.

Opposition to the bill from the “SALT Caucus” threatens to derail the tax legislation, which Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., hope to see passed before Memorial Day weekend.

The intra-party battle revolves around the question of the tax deduction allowed for state and local taxes on federal income tax returns.

A Republican tax bill in 2017 capped that deduction at $10,000 in what was seen as a political slap at Democratic-leaning states in the Northeast and California, where residents often pay much more than that state and local taxes.

A proposal in the current tax bill calls for that deduction to be raised to $30,000, but that is still not high enough for a number of GOP lawmakers from those blue states.

Trump, in his visit Tuesday to meet with Republican House members, told the SALT Caucus, “Let it go,” NBC News reported. 

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