The Manhattan-based U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the 2nd District, by a unanimous 3-0 decision, has upheld the $10,000 cap on state and local tax (SALT) deductions as part of the Tax Cuts & Jobs Act (TCJA) signed by President Trump back in 2017. In addition to cutting taxes for corporate America as well as most American taxpayers, that legislation also capped the amount that taxpayers could deduct on their federal income tax returns for state and local taxes. That particular provision was challenged as unconstitutional because of the disparate impact it had on different states with high-tax states such as New York, Connecticut, Maryland and Delaware being most negatively impacted. New York Attorney General Letitia James lead the challenge which was rejected two years ago by the U.S. District Court in Manhattan. Whether the states will appeal the decision to the Supreme Court of the United States remains to be seen.
