Trump reverses position, vows to ‘get SALT back’

Former President Donald Trump on Tuesday vowed that he would “get SALT back” if reelected, apparently suggesting that he would eliminate the cap on state and local tax deductions that he signed into law in 2017.

Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, made the promise in a Truth Social post intended to court New York voters to back him over Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris in the Nov. 5 election.

“We have a real chance of winning, for the first time in many decades, New York,” Trump claimed, arguing that crime, immigration and inflation have hurt state residents.

“VOTE FOR TRUMP! I will turn it around, get SALT back, lower your Taxes, and so much more,” he said in the post.

Trump lost New York by more-than-20-point margins in both the 2016 and the 2020 elections. Recent polls of the state mostly show Trump down by double digits against Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris.

Asked for clarification on Trump’s social media post, and specifically whether he is vowing to end the SALT cap he signed into law, the Republican’s campaign did not provide a direct answer.

It instead shared a statement from spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt, saying, “While his pro-growth, pro-energy policies will make life affordable again, President Trump is also going to quickly move tax relief for working people and Seniors.”

The Trump campaign did not immediately respond to follow-up questions from CNBC.

The SALT deduction allowed taxpayers to deduct certain state and local taxes from their federal tax returns. But the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, the biggest legislative accomplishment of Trump’s presidential term, limited that deduction to $10,000.

The cap increased federal revenue and helped pay for other cuts in the sweeping tax bill.

Democrats have complained that the SALT deduction limitations disproportionately hurt blue states with higher state and local tax rates, like New York and Connecticut.

Some progressives and tax-policy experts have defended the cap, however, arguing that its repeal would mostly benefit the rich.

The SALT cap and other tax provisions of the 2017 tax law are set to expire at the end of 2025. Harris has not said she will try to preserve the Trump-era cuts, but she has vowed not to raise taxes on Americans making less than $400,000 a year.

The nonpartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget argues that repealing the SALT cap “would be costly, distortionary, and regressive.”