The Republican rollback of the deduction appeared to play a role in the party’s midterm election losses.
In three of the states most affected -- California, New Jersey and New York -- Republicans lost 14 U.S. House seats, accounting for about a third of the party’s overall losses. Additionally, two lawmakers key to crafting the Republican tax overhaul -- former Representatives Erik Paulsen of Minnesota and Peter Roskam of Illinois -- lost their seats after campaigns in which the unpopularity of the new law was a major issue.
Still, Jack Peterson, the deputy director of government affairs at the National Association of Counties, said that with bipartisan support in the House and Trump showing interest “to be part of some of the bigger conversations,” the deduction limit may be changed.
Political interest in the issue is rising during the tax filing season, the first under the new tax law, as some taxpayers who were expecting to get a refund are finding out they instead owe money to the Internal Revenue Service.
“You keep hearing how upset people are, and how people aren’t getting the refunds they expected,” said Michael Mundaca, the co-leader of Ernst & Young LLP U.S.’s national tax department. “I think we’ll see talk, but I don’t think it will move through the current legislative environment.”
“The president is obviously very proud of the tax bill, and Republicans are not ready to start looking at ways to roll back any of its provisions,” said Jonathan McCollum, the director of federal government affairs for Davidoff Hutcher & Citron, a New York law firm with a Washington office. “With the administration and this Congress, it’s not likely to happen.”
This article provided by Bloomberg News.