Had the Senate not insisted on ending the deduction of state and local taxes from federal taxes, many of the Republican dissidents in the House would not have made the vote on the joint budget resolution Thursday a breathtakingly close 216 to 212.
That was how New York’s freshman Rep. John Faso explained to Newsmax why he and 19 fellow Republicans in the House “took a walk” on the so-called blueprint for tax reform that made it such a tight vote.
“The Senate — unnecessarily in my view — included language to repeal SALT [state and local tax] deductions from the federal income tax,” said Faso, who spoke to me a few hours after the vote.
Because New York and New Jersey have high state and local taxes, Faso explained, they feel the benefit of being able to deduct those taxes from the federal income tax.
“So it felt like our two states were somehow being singled out as a target,” he said. “After we learned of the language in the Senate resolution [which passed Friday], the members from New York and New Jersey began texting, emailing, and holding meetings on the House floor.”
It didn’t take long for a consensus, albeit not a unanimous stance, to develop among the Republican New Jersey residents and New Yorkers to oppose the resolution. Seven of the 9 New York Republicans voted against it, as did 4 of the 5 Republicans from New Jersey.
The other House Republicans voting “no” were five members of the House Liberty Caucus, traditional conservatives Ken Buck of Colorado and Matt Gaetz of Florida (both were concerned about deficit impacts), moderate-to-liberal Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania (representing high-tax Bucks County in suburban Philadelphia), and retiring Rep. Lynn Jenkins of Kansas, who felt the budget should have included mandatory spending reforms.
Faso said that House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady, R-Texas, expressed understanding to the opponents from the two high-tax states.
“State and local taxes have been deductible since the federal income tax began in 1913,” he said. “Look, I support tax reform because it will help the economy grow faster, it will give a break to the middle class, and it will make the business climate more positive. But when we produce a final bill with details, we shouldn’t expose my constituents to higher taxes because they happen to live in New York.”
John Gizzi is chief political columnist and White House correspondent for Newsmax. For more of his reports, Go Here Now.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.