At a press conference in Ridgewood Monday, U.S. Rep. Josh Gottheimer, D-5th District, announced a next step in the effort to restore the SALT (State and Local Tax) deduction.

Unveiled Sept. 9, a new comment portal will allow North Jersey residents and businesses to submit their feedback on SALT’s importance.

As NJBIZ has reported, the 2017 federal tax bill capped the SALT property tax deduction at $10,000 – hitting several states, such as New Jersey, particularly hard. That law is set to expire in just 15 months, at the end of 2025.

“The SALT deduction has been around since 1913, helping Jersey families avoid double taxation for more than a hundred years. Before you pay your federal taxes, you can deduct what you paid in state income and local property taxes,” said Gottheimer. “For more than 100 years, you could deduct everything you paid – avoiding double taxation. The average SALT deduction taken in New Jersey was $19,000, nearly double the current cap. The deduction put thousands of dollars back into the pockets of hardworking Jersey’s middle-income families.”

Gottheimer, a potential 2025 Democratic gubernatorial candidate, has been at the center of the fight. In 2021, he founded the bipartisan SALT Caucus to advocate for the end of the cap.

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“When I voted ‘No’ on that 2017 Tax Hike Bill, we all predicted that it would raise Jersey’s taxes and drive residents and jobs out of our state,” he continued. “And I’m sad to report that it’s done just that. Middle class families in Sussex, Bergen, and Passaic counties have paid anywhere from $2,500 to $14,000 or more in taxes. Imagine you’re sitting around the kitchen table, paying bills at the end of the month, and you get another surprise bill out of nowhere for $5,000. It’s downright cruel – and that’s what the Red Moocher States did.”

“As you know, I never back down from a fight and when it comes to restoring SALT, and getting tax cuts for our hardworking Jersey families, the fight isn’t finished just yet. In fact, the starting gun just went off again – and the fight to restore SALT is back front and center,” said Gottheimer. “Thankfully, we may soon be able to put an end to this SALT nightmare. Please go to my website, ‘Gottheimer.House.Gov/SALT,’ and leave your comments about how the SALT cap has affected you, your family, and your small businesses.”

The portal will accept comments through Oct. 4. Gottheimer says the feedback will help inform a comprehensive SALT Plan his office is preparing to release this fall.

“I’d love these comments to fill a wheelbarrow, so we can show just how overwhelming a consensus there is behind SALT to those Red Moocher States,” he said.

A ‘New Jersey issue’

Held fittingly at the Ridgewood Salt Shed, several government officials and business community leaders joined Gottheimer at the press conference.

“We’re here for a very, very important reason. Our Congressman Josh Gottheimer is fighting every day to restore the SALT tax deduction that has hit New Jersey and Ridgewood so especially hard,” said Ridgewood Mayor Paul Vagianos. “This is not a Republican issue; this is not a Democrat issue; this is a New Jersey issue.”

New Jersey Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Tom Bracken applauded Gottheimer’s efforts advocating for New Jersey on key issues such as this.

“This is the greatest state in the country,” said Bracken. “What we do not need is for the federal government to shoot us in the other foot. That’s one of the things the SALT cap does. It penalizes the state. It penalizes the citizens. It drives people and businesses out of the state.”

“People in North Jersey rely on state and local taxes — and the deduction to make life more affordable,” said North Jersey Chamber of Commerce President Carol Rausher. “I’m here today to talk about the people that are on a fixed income like myself and people that are going to be on a fixed income. We should be very concerned. They are looking at the money they’re going to have when they retire, and they’re saying, ‘Oh my goodness, look at these taxes in Jew Jersey,’ I can’t live here.”

A helping hand

Gottheimer closed his remarks by stressing that restoring SALT would make a huge difference for the state.

“Data shows that restoring the deduction will help nearly 3 million people in Jersey overnight — nearly a third of our population, the vast majority of whom make under $216,000 a year,” said Gottheimer. “By rallying behind this single policy, we can give a helping hand to working families up and down New Jersey.

He says that is why he is dead set on standing up for SALT. And “getting the full SALT shaker back for our state.”

“I’m optimistic that, if we fight hard and work together, we can restore SALT, lower taxes, and ensure that here in the greatest country in the world, our best days will always be ahead of us,” he concluded. “And you can bet, we’ll head back here to the salt shed to celebrate.”

The new SALT comment portal is available here.