SUBSTITUTE RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, on November 16,2017, the "Tax Cuts and Jobs Act," a massive tax-reform bill that proposes sweeping changes to the current corporate and individual tax system, passed through the United States House of Representatives; and
WHEREAS, the Illinois Republican delegation gathered in Congress voted in full support of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act; and
WHEREAS, some of the legislation's key proposals include a new top tax rate and a lower corporate rate, a decrease in the number of tax brackets, an increase in the standard deduction, and a partial repeal of the state and local tax deduction; and
WHEREAS, the state and local tax (SALT) deduction is a benefit that allows taxpayers to deduct those taxes from their federal bill; and
WHEREAS, the SALT deduction has two parts including a deduction for state and local property taxes and a deduction that can be used for either state income taxes or state sales taxes, whichever is higher; and
WHEREAS, eliminating the state and local tax deduction would disproportionately harm individuals who live in states with a high overall state tax burden by raising the federal income tax burden by the value of the tax bill due to the state; and
WHEREAS, some of the largest beneficiaries of the SALT deduction are states with a large population of high-income residents and most of the claimants live in traditionally Democratic states; and
WHEREAS, according to the Tax Foundation, six states including California, New York, New Jersey, Texas, Illinois, and Florida claim more than 50% of the overall property tax deduction; and
WHEREAS, another proposed homeownership change in the bill would limit the mortgage interest deduction to the first $500,000 of mortgage debt instead of the current $1 million threshold, and would apply only to newly purchased homes; and
WHEREAS, mortgages over $500,000 are common in expensive markets in the City and the greater Chicagoland area, and such a change to the mortgage deduction ...
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