Zach Rudisill and Arshi Siddiqui Quoted in Law360 on Possible SALT Cap Compromise in Biden Admin.

Akin Gump public law and policy partners Zach Rudisill and Arshi Siddiqui have been quoted in the Law360 article “SALT Cap Compromise On The Table In Next Congress.” The article looks at whether a full repeal of the deduction for state and local taxes (SALT) is a possibility under the Biden administration.

Rudisill, a former tax counsel to Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH), said he thinks there will be ample opportunity for Republicans and Democrats to debate the SALT cap within legislation next year. “I think there will be several tax bills that end up passing Congress in 2021,” he said. “This will be in the mix” in determining the fate of the SALT cap.

Rudisill also noted that there will be reexamination of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act itself, which includes provisions with various expiration dates. “As we get into this next year, expirations of some of the business provisions start to come on the horizon. I think there’s likely to be a conversation around a number of these,” he said.

Full repeal of SALT, because of the cost considerations, remains a “steep hill to climb,” said Siddiqui, a former advisor to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, though she pointed out that eliminating the marriage penalty and doing a one-year full repeal could be possibilities.

Still, what happens to SALT could depend on the size of any bill being discussed, Siddiqui observed. “Certainly in the context of any sort of larger tax bill, SALT will be in play,” she said, “If we’re talking about a big COVID package, in a world where we’re doing the package on a bipartisan basis, and there’s agreement to have a more robust package, it becomes easier.”