In these United States, power over each of us is passed up on a limited bases to our communities, to each state, and finally and ultimately to the Federal Government. Thus, each of our communities and states may free choose different levels of services. We Virginians may choose whatever level of services we are willing to pay for and the same for those of you in New York or Illinois. Deducting the state and local taxes that we pay for the service levels we choose from our federal income taxes passes on some of that financing to those in other states that might have choses less expensive service levels for themselves. Such deductions are a clear violation of the principles outlined above. Fairness and adherence to these principles requires that State and Local Tax deductions (SALT) from federal income taxes be zero. We are at risk of moving in the wrong direction.
Author: Warren Coats
I specialize in advising central banks on monetary policy and the development of the capacity to formulate and implement monetary policy. I joined the International Monetary Fund in 1975 from which I retired in 2003 as Assistant Director of the Monetary and Financial Systems Department. While at the IMF I led or participated in missions to the central banks of over twenty countries (including Afghanistan, Bosnia, Croatia, Egypt, Iraq, Israel, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kosovo, Kyrgystan, Moldova, Serbia, Turkey, West Bank and Gaza Strip, and Zimbabwe) and was seconded as a visiting economist to the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (1979-80), and to the World Bank's World Development Report team in 1989. After retirement from the IMF I was a member of the Board of the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority from 2003-10 and of the editorial board of the Cayman Financial Review from 2010-2017. Prior to joining the IMF I was Assistant Prof of Economics at UVa from 1970-75. I am currently a fellow of Johns Hopkins Krieger School of Arts and Sciences, Institute for Applied Economics, Global Health, and the Study of Business Enterprise. In March 2019 Central Banking Journal awarded me for my “Outstanding Contribution for Capacity Building.” My recent books are One Currency for Bosnia: Creating the Central Bank of Bosnia and Herzegovina; My Travels in the Former Soviet Union; My Travels to Afghanistan; My Travels to Jerusalem; and My Travels to Baghdad. I have a BA in Economics from the UC Berkeley and a PhD in Economics from the University of Chicago. My dissertation committee was chaired by Milton Friedman and included Robert J. Gordon. I live in National Landing Va 22202
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Agree completely. And if the local and State tax burdens are biting, take it to those respective authorities and legislators. Federal SALT deductions subsidize their waste.