With Democratic control of Congress and the White House, New Jersey’s entire Congressional delegation said Jan. 27 it is pushing for a repeal of a federal cap on state and local property tax deductions as part of the upcoming relief package.

The State and Local Tax (SALT) deduction — which dates back to 1913 — was gutted in 2017 under then-President Donald Trump and limited homeowners from claiming more than $10,000 in state and local taxes when filing their income taxes each year.

Opponents contend that homeowners in high tax states like New Jersey and New York – where the yearly tax bill can sometimes double the 2017 cap – have been financially slammed.

Those two states, along with California and Connecticut, were slated to be the worst-hit by the SALT cap, according to a report from the Tax Foundation.

“Relief from the unfair and destructive SALT cap offers the precise breed of action our constituents, states, and localities will benefit from immediately,” reads a letter addressed to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellin, and in another addressed to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, both Democrats.

The letter was signed off by the state’s two Republicans and 10 Democrats in the House.

And it was touted by two of those Democrats – Rep. Josh Gottheimer (NJ-5) and Rep. Bill Pascrell (NJ-9)- during a Wednesday afternoon event at a U-Haul location in Paterson.

“This is key to the health of our economy, key to keeping our state strong,” Gottheimer said during the press conference there. “It’s time to lower taxes here again in New Jersey.”

According to the state’s delegation in the letter, a repeal of the SALT cap would play a key role in providing economic relief to residents amid the COVID-19 pandemic, and stop them from moving to lower-cost states.

They noted that states like New Jersey, New York and Massachusetts, which historically send more tax dollars to Washington than they receive back in federal funding, have been the hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, both in terms of public health and financial pain.

“[R]emoving the SALT cap would be a textbook method to provide relief to communities ravaged by the pandemic,” the New Jersey delegation’s letter to Congressional leadership reads.

Both Republicans – Rep. Jeff Van Drew from South Jersey and Rep. Chris Smith, voted for lifting the $10,000 cap, but the measure stalled then in the GOP-controlled Senate.

Yellen told lawmakers during her confirmation hearing last week that she would be open to the Treasury examining the impact of the cap on state and local governments.

“The SALT deduction was eliminated only a few years ago, and before making a decision about what should be done looking forward, I think it’s critical to study and evaluate what the impact has been on state and local governments on their ability to provide critical services,” she said.