Today, Congressman Bill Pascrell, Jr. (NJ-09), a member of the tax-writing Ways and Means Committee, issued the following statement after House Republicans blocked a floor vote on his amendment to restore the state and local tax (SALT) deduction in H.R. 1, the Republican tax bill under consideration this week. Taxpayers in New Jersey rely heavily on the Civil War-era tax break exempting itemizing filers from including state and local taxes paid in their taxable federal income. New Jersey is one of four states in which taxpayers will pay more in aggregate under H.R. 1 according to a new analysis. The Pascrell amendment blocked by the Rules Committee was cosponsored by fourteen other members: Reps. Higgins (NY), Thompson (CA), Sánchez (CA), Larson (CT), Davis (IL), Crowley (NY), Esty (CT), Hanabusa (HI), Suozzi (NY), Titus (NV), Adams (NC), Raskin (MD), Chu (CA), and Meng (NY).

"I can only assume that Republicans blocked our amendment to restore state and local tax deduction because they are afraid that we would actually win that floor vote," Rep. Pascrell said. "New Jersey is getting a raw deal, and we’re not alone. Families across the country are going to lose valuable deductions, making it harder to them to afford homes and further eroding the middle class. The Republican list of priorities includes permanent tax breaks for corporations and protection of preferences used by hedge fund managers and golf course owners. Corporate America and the wealthy donor class see windfalls while our middle class families are left in the dust under this ill-conceived and loophole-ridden package."