IL-06: Jeanne Ives Comes Out in Support of Increasing State and Local Taxes (SALT) Deduction Limits

Jeanne Ives

On Tuesday, 6th congressional district candidate Jeanne Ives made the rounds doing multiple media interviews, as captured here. In her interview with Crain’s Chicago Business the following was stated:

“In other items, Ives said she would raise the cap on the federal deduction for state and local taxes, but did not say how much. The GOP’s 2017 tax law capped the deduction to $10,000 a year, so low that many middle-class families are being hit, Ives said. She did add that other provisions of the bill helped many middle-class taxpayers.”

Crain’s Chicago Business 10/8/19

In commentary to the above, the following was said:

While not a main part of the interview, Ives did say she favors raising the SALT deduction cap of the Tax Cuts & Jobs Act of 2017 [TCJA], but did not say how much. This brings up Lauren Underwood’s H.R. 1757, legislation strongly backed by Sean Casten. This issue raises a “red flag” with me, given the empirical evidence that says the SALT deduction cap did NOT result in a rise in middle class taxes after the Tax Cut & Jobs Act of 2017.

This is something Ives needs to discuss when she publishes her position paper on taxes and spending, because she has taken the Casten and Underwood line that the SALT deduction caps did raise taxes on the middle class.

McHenry County Blog awaits her stand on the issues of taxes and spending and for her to defend what she said in the interview.

McHenry County Blog 10/8/19

On Thursday McHenry County Blog reached out to Ives’ campaign seeking information how she made her decision to support raising SALT deduction limits, through empirical data analytics or simply voter input, as well as her position paper on the issue. Her campaign’s response is below:

We will release position statements papers as the campaign moves forward.  Jeanne stands with the people of the 6th district in every decision she makes.

Jeanne for Congress Campaign Spokesperson 10/10/19

COMMENTARY: How did Ives come to take this position on raising the SALT deduction cap? 

Hopefully, Ives discusses this stance more, possibly including on her weekly “Friday Night Lights” video podcast and will publish her position in writing soon.

McHenry County Blog has documented over the past 3+ months, H.R. 1757 including references to empirical data stating changes to SALT deductions will only positively benefit the rich/wealthy, which placed Underwood/Casten and the other Democrats favoring a change to defend giving a tax cut to the rich.

Here’s a summary, including analyzing all 8 bills proposed by the current Congress on TCJA and SALT deduction limitations, published by McHenry County Blog since June:

  • First 5 bills filed from January to mid February were to repeal SALT deduction caps
  • Underwood/Casten bill (H.R. 1757) filed in mid-March, was the first bill to concede the need for SALT deduction limitations since it keeps limitations in place, but raises the amount of the limitation
  • Two other bills filed to address SALT deduction limitations after H.R. 1757 (through July)
    • H.R. 2624 sponsored by Mikie Sherill (D, NJ) and had bipartisan cosponsorship
    • H.R. 2894 sponsored by Dan Lipinski (D, IL), which is a copy of H.R. 1757, but with a funding mechanism
  • Empirical analysis of SALT legislation concluded the beneficiaries of any change to SALT deduction limitation of TCJA will be the rich/wealthy and negligible benefit to middle class
    • Published in CNBC
    • Published in Bloomberg
    • Published by non partisan Tax Foundation
  • Underwood and others use the term “double tax” often, which is a lie
  • Ways & Means subcommittee hearing on 6/25 attempted to address SALT limitations, and the Republicans defended TCJA and opposed all of the legislation citing the empirical data
    • Local government leaders claimed SALT deductions hurt their city/schools/fire departments
    • Tax Foundation witness shared their empirical findings no more than 6.5% of middle class nationwide negatively impacted by SALT deduction limits
    • Casten testified before subcommittee (video below)
  • Around the time of Ways & Means subcommittee hearing and again in mid-July, Underwood’s congressional office attempted a local approach with 14th district local government officials stating how SALT deduction limitations have allegedly harmed their constituents:
    • All 7 elected officials are elected Democrats or mayors who are known Democrats
    • No expert from Tax Foundation, or any other analytical group, included like at 6/25 hearing
    • Some of the elected officials also have constituencies in the 6th district
    • Article here
  • In my opinion, the Democrats are trying to redefine the “middle class”, like the Left was able to redefine marriage.

The 6/25 hearing included this 3.25 minutes of testimony by Casten:

Source: Sean Casten YouTube channel

If Ives is going to campaign on raising SALT deduction limits as inputs from 6th district voters, she needs to avoid being vague. Casten and Underwood have their approach in writing in H.R. 1757

They do not have a funding mechanism in H.R. 1757, and to date have not embraced the funding mechanism proposed by fellow Illinoisian Lipinski in his legislation H.R. 2894.

Whether Ives will embrace the Lipinski approach to paying for SALT deduction increases, or propose one of her own, she needs to make her specifics known before the primary, meaning there is plenty of time yet the sooner the better.

And all of the Republican candidates in the 6th and 14th congressional districts need to make their detailed positions on SALT deduction limits known in writing, too.


Comments

IL-06: Jeanne Ives Comes Out in Support of Increasing State and Local Taxes (SALT) Deduction Limits — 6 Comments

  1. Free prodigious research for our entire sunshine readership: This picture was taken at 3:09 pm Eastern Standard Time, 15:09 military Eastern Standard Time. Please praise my amazing research skills. Stay tuned…tic, tock, tic, tock, tic, tock, tic, tock, tic, tock, meeeeeeeeeeeeooooooooooooooooooowwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww…

  2. I guess it is easier, more “politically correct” to say we want to increase the SALT deduction then actually doing something to lower the state and local taxes themselves.

    In fact, we are going in the opposite direction!

  3. Bob, you are spot-on. The “politically correct” is trying to absolve state of Illinois and local governments, particularly local school districts and the city of Chicago, of the higher taxes and out-of-control pensions that, as Casten said in the video. It’s euphemistically known as “investing” in the people which began in the Clinton years. Some irony, since Casten admitted this past weekend he never voted for Clinton for president during the 90s.

    But something else taking place is many, including in relatively affluent districts like the 6th and 14th, people are believing a lie that “…unless you are the top 1%, you are not rich but middle class.” That is not the way economics works.

    While there is a “top 1%”, there’s also a top 2-15% or 20%” and if one is in the top 15-20%, for all practical economic purposes you are considered “rich”. That is the lie of redefining the middle class. Unless Ives and her people have some additional empirical data (beyond public opinion polls) that helped her make the decision to support increasing the SALT deductions, then her decision is based on the emotion that people of district residents who feel they were cheated by the TCJA of 2017.

    And if that lie is allowed to work next year, you will see the graduated income tax, euphemistically called “fair tax” pass easily in November of 2020.

  4. Jeanne Ives agrees with Lauren Underwood: people who live in mansions need tax breaks.

  5. Nice sentiment there Jeannie.

    But I guaran-damn-tee you the rest of the country, doesn’t give a crap about the high tax Democrat hellhole you nuts created.

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