Donald Trump pledged to lift a cap on the state and local tax deduction valuable to many New York homeowners that he imposed as president.
"I will cut taxes for families, small businesses and workers, including restoring the SALT deduction, saving thousands of dollars for residents of New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and other high cost states," Trump said, referring to the acronym for the state and local tax write-off, at a rally Wednesday.
Trump made the pitch in an unorthodox campaign spot — New York's Long Island. SALT is particularly salient in New York's suburbs, where high tax rates and high property values mean that residents are more likely to have hefty state and local tax bills.
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, Trump's signature tax law, capped the value of the SALT deduction at $10,000, regardless of marital status. Limiting the deduction has a disproportionate effect on communities with higher taxes and property values — areas which tend to be dominated by Democrats, including New York and New Jersey.
Wednesday's rally took the former president — with under 50 days until Election Day — outside of the swing states likely to determine November's election outcome. While New York is Trump's home state — and he has said he thinks he can carry the state — no Republican presidential candidate has won the state since 1984 and polls show his opponent Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris with a double-digit lead.
The New York City suburbs are also home to several swing congressional districts where the outcome could determine whether Republicans are able to hold onto their narrow majority in the House.
The setting — in Uniondale, New York — also highlights how Trump and Harris are both seeking to court suburban women and independent voters, looking to expand their electoral coalitions beyond their already fervent bases, and draw from a shrinking pool of undecideds.
Central to that pitch is the economy and addressing the concerns among those voters and Americans at large over high prices and costs, including for housing, as well as anxiety over jobs and wages — with the two candidates competing with a slew of promises to offer tax benefits or cuts to ease the financial burdens on U.S. households.
Trump has flirted with reviving the SALT deduction before, but Democrats scoffed at the timing of the former president's latest comments.
"Trump was the one who took away SALT. It hurt many New Yorkers, including lots on Long Island," Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York said Tuesday. "Now that he's going back to Long Island for the first time he changes his mind? Give me a break."
New York House Republicans are exerting pressure on Trump to address SALT, which is an important electoral issue in their districts. Several members, including Representative Mike Lawler, face close reelection races in the areas surrounding New York City.
"I previously raised it with him in August," Lawler said Tuesday, referring to a conversation he had with Trump about SALT. "I know others have raised it with him as well. It's an issue that matters, and I think he recognizes that."
Trump also made another pledge to appeal to households burdened by consumer debt: a temporary 10% cap on credit card interest. The average interest rate was 21.51% commercial bank credit cards in May 2024, according to Federal Reserve data.
Trump did not provide any details about how he plans to lower credit card rates, which are set by banks and vary based on the Fed's interest rate and the borrower's risk profile. The central bank's announcement to lower interest rates by a half of a percentage point will likely only slightly lower credit card borrowing costs.
Trump also promised to designate the Sept. 11, 2001, Ground Zero site at the World Trade Center a national monument, which would put it under the protection of the National Park Service. Trump called the space "hallowed ground" and said it was important to remember those who perished by preserving it "for all time."
Tax-centric campaign
Repealing the SALT cap is the latest in a series of tax breaks Trump has proposed in an effort to sway voters, following pledges to end taxes on overtime, tipped wages and Social Security benefits. And he's called for renewing tax cuts from his signature 2017 law that are slated to expire next year and for reducing the corporate tax rate even further to 15% from 21%.
Harris also supports eliminating taxes on tips, and has vowed to end subminimum wages for tipped workers. She's proposed several measures to help lower costs for households and small businesses. She's also pitched a 28% capital gains tax rate on people earning $1 million or more and raising the corporate tax rate to 28%.
Those competing plans would all come with big price tags and spark a fierce battle over tax policy in the next Congress. Repealing the SALT cap alone would add more than $1 trillion to the cost of the tax law extension over the next 10 years, according to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget.
Trump and Harris both have competing plans to make housing more accessible. Harris has promised $25,000 down-payment assistance for first-time home buyers, while Trump pledged to reduce regulatory obstacles to building new homes and opening portions of federal land for housing construction.
New York state at large is dealing with a lack of affordable places to live after years of adding more jobs than homes. Housing production in New York City's suburbs is far behind other major urban centers.
