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Commissioners Court passes the SALT resolution

Wednesday, October 25, 2017 by Caleb Pritchard

The Travis County Commissioners Court found bipartisan consensus on Tuesday in opposition to one component of the Republican-led tax reform in Washington, D.C. The court unanimously backed a resolution that affirms its distaste for any congressional effort to repeal the state and local tax deduction. Also known as SALT, the deduction allows taxpayers to deduct state sales, property and income taxes from that which they render to Uncle Sam. According to the National Association of Counties, SALT in 2015 saved more than 150,000 Travis County households $1.66 billion. The Senate voted to eliminate SALT last week as part of the GOP’s sweeping tax plan. The House of Representatives is set to take up the question on Thursday, according to the Washington Post. Just before Tuesday’s vote, County Judge Sarah Eckhardt unfurled a history lesson in the court chambers. “Before the 16th Amendment, there was no income tax and there was a reason,” she expounded. “The states reserved the ability to tax residents in the United States and the federal government survived essentially – except in times of war – on tariffs and sales taxes. The idea of exempting one’s state and local taxes from your income tax dates back to that fundamental issue.”

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