This is a simple math problem and you two keep harping about a semantic difference when I’m just looking at the end result.
Look at it this way:
If your tax bill is $1000 and you take a $200 deduction then you pay $800.
If your tax bill is $1000 and you get a $200 subsidy then you pay $800.
When the net result of a subsidy or tax deduction is the same then there is no functional difference between a subsidy and a deduction.
In the case of the SALT people in states with higher state and local taxes end up paying less Federal taxes than people in states where people pay less state and local taxes.
You may see that as a deduction and God bless your heart for seeing it that way.
But I can assure you that your state government properly sees it as a subsidy because without the SALT people like yourselves will turn your attention to them and start demanding that they lower your taxes.
Again, I’d prefer a flat tax with no deductions whatsoever. Everyone pays the same regardless of how much they pay their CPA and their attorneys.
“If your tax bill is $1000 and you take a $200 deduction then you pay $800.
If your tax bill is $1000 and you get a $200 subsidy then you pay $800.”
That’s a perfect example Megan.
In the first case, I pay $800 because the government has collected only $800 from me. Nobody else pays anything.
In the second case I pay $800 because the government used $200 it collected from somebody else to make up the difference in MY bill. The government still got their $1,000.
They got $800 from me and forced somebody else to pay $200 on my behalf.
“In the case of the SALT people in states with higher state and local taxes end up paying less Federal taxes than people in states where people pay less state and local taxes.”
Interesting take. I haven’t thought of it that way. So because some people choose to live in states that over tax them, they end up paying less federal tax. So in essence, the rest of us are subsidizing them.
We should either move or fix their own states. And not whine so much