AASA Urges House To Support SALT-D Bill

Today AASA sent a letter to the House of Representatives in advance of their vote to reinstate the state and local tax (SALT) deduction cap for 2020 and 2021. You can read our letter below:  

Dear Representative:

On behalf of AASA, The School Superintendents, representing more than 13,000 public school system leaders across the nation, I write to offer our strong support for the Restoring Tax Fairness for States and Localities Act (H.R. 5377).

We believe Congress should act quickly to adjust the state and local tax (SALT) deduction cap to minimize harm to taxpayers and local school districts. The Restoring Tax Fairness for States and Localities Act lifts the cap on the state and local tax (SALT) deduction in 2020 and 2021, which is an important first step towards the full reinstatement of this critical deduction. As one of the six original deductions allowed under the original tax code, SALT-D has a long history and is a critical support for investments in infrastructure, public safety, homeownership and, specific to our work, our nation’s public schools. Reinstating this deduction would decrease tax rates for certain taxpayers, increase disposable income, and increase the likelihood of support for local tax levies for education.

The ripple effects from the new SALT cap deduction of $10,000 is already having significant deleterious impacts on some state budgets budget, and those of local school districts. Moreover, the Tax Cuts and Jos Act has created significant uncertainty for state and local budgets as it is not entirely certain how taxpayers may alter their behavior to decrease their overall tax liability. Without the enactment of H.R. 5377 schools will be under tremendous pressure to reduce and constrain tax levies, even with ongoing inadequate state aid, to provide relief to taxpayers impacted by the SALT cap. Ultimately, these pressures pressures will have a deleterious impact on the educational opportunities and outcomes for our students and undermine our country’s ability to produce students who are college and career ready.

AASA urges the swift passage of this important legislation and encourages the Senate to take up this bill as soon as possible.