[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 19 (Monday, January 30, 2023)]
[House]
[Page H507]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        TAX RELIEF FOR FAMILIES

  (Mr. LAWLER asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. LAWLER. Mr. Speaker, today, I rise to bring this body's attention 
to the urgent need to provide tax relief for families in districts like 
mine.
  Folks in the Hudson Valley are facing an affordability crisis due to 
record inflation, skyrocketing energy costs, and the arbitrary cap on 
State and local taxes, otherwise known as SALT, placed on residents of 
States like New York in 2017.
  It effectively leads to double taxation in a part of our country 
which already pays among the highest taxes in the Nation. In Rockland 
and Westchester Counties, for instance, we pay the highest property 
taxes in the country, averaging well over $10,000.
  That is why I have introduced legislation, with bipartisan support of 
my colleagues Representatives D'Esposito and Sherrill, to begin to 
address this. The SALT Marriage Penalty Elimination Act would correct 
the flaw created by the original SALT cap that penalizes married 
couples filing jointly by lifting their deduction to $20,000 rather 
than $10,000. This small change would significantly help families in my 
district and across the country.
  Ultimately, we need to repeal this arbitrary cap in full, but in the 
meantime, we can take concrete steps to provide hardworking taxpayers 
in New York and across the country real tax relief.

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