Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase & Co.
Giulia Marchi | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Democrats pushing for the SALT cap to be lifted have an unlikely opponent: Jamie Dimon.
In his annual letter to shareholders, the chairman and CEO of JPMorgan Chase targeted a number of spin-offs and loopholes in tax law that serve particular interests rather than the long-term benefit of the country. In particular, he said that “state and local governments alike are to blame” for their efforts to lift the $ 10,000 limit on state and local tax deductions.
And he cited research that showed the vast majority of the benefits of SALT waiver would go to the rich.
He said only five states – California, Connecticut, Illinois, New Jersey, and New York – “continue to struggle for unlimited state and local tax deductions (because those five states reap 40% of the benefit), even though they know over 80% of those deductions go to people who earn more than $ 339,000 a year. “
Dimon’s publicly available attack on the lifting of SALT comes at a tax-sensitive time. While Biden’s corporate tax hikes and infrastructure bill don’t include a suspension of SALT, some Congress Democrats – including Rep. Tom Suozzi, DN.Y., and Rep. Josh Gottheimer, DN.J. – say they will not support Biden’s plan unless it includes a complete lifting of the SALT cap.
Republicans and some Democrats say repeal would only benefit the rich – contrary to the values of the Democratic Party – and cost the government more than $ 600 billion in lost revenue over a 10-year period.
According to the Tax Policy Center, more than 96% of the benefits of a SALT waiver would go to the top 20% of the workforce. It is estimated that 57% of benefits would go to the top 1%.
Those in the top 1% would see an average tax cut of $ 31,000 from a SALT repeal, according to the Tax Policy Center.
So far the White House has been non-binding on this issue. Speaking at a press conference on Monday, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said, “This will all be part of the discussion.”