Brady: House to keep property tax break
WASHINGTON — The chairman of the House’s tax-writing committee said Sunday that he’s confident that chamber won’t go along with the Senate’s proposal to eliminate the deduction for property taxes, setting up a flashpoint as Republicans aim to put a tax cut bill on President Donald Trump’s desk before Christmas.
The GOP is moving to push forward on the first rewrite of the U.S. tax code in three decades.
Among the biggest differences in the two bills that have emerged: The House bill allows homeowners to deduct up to $10,000 in property taxes, while the Senate proposal unveiled by GOP leaders last week eliminates the entire deduction.
The deduction is important to residents in states with high property values or tax rates, such as
New Jersey, Illinois, California and New York.
Rep. Kevin Brady, chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, said he worked with lawmakers in those states to ensure the House bill “delivers this relief.”
“It’s important to make sure that people keep more of what they earn, even in these high-tax states,” Brady, R-texas, said during an appearance on “Fox News Sunday.”
Both the House and Senate bills would eliminate deductions for state and local income taxes and sales taxes paid. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said in response to Brady’s pledge that Republicans should fully restore what is referred to as the SALT deduction, or millions of middle-class families would end up paying higher federal income taxes.
“The House’s so-called ‘compromise’ would be saying to the middle class we’ll only chop off four of your fingers instead of all five,” Schumer said in a statement.