The tax bill that makes Trump POSTUS (president of some of the United States)

You’ve probably been hearing a lot about local tax deductions since Congress and the administration passed their once-in-a-generation overhaul of the entire federal code with about the same amount of forethought you might put into picking a melon.

It was Christmas, you know. There was shopping to do.

Before we get into all that, though, let me briefly explain this issue in big-picture terms, because it’s probably confusing to a lot of taxpayers who aren’t directly affected, and it helps to know what we’re really talking about.

The federal tax code has always assumed that Washington is entitled to tax only the income you have left after the state (or the city or county) has taken its share in property and income taxes. I suppose that’s because, as Republicans are always telling us, we are a republic of states, and those local governments are the principal taxing authorities and service providers.

Under the new law, however, Washington cares only up to a point if you’ve already been taxed on your home and income. Now you can deduct the first $10,000 of property or local income taxes; after that, the IRS will consider all of it taxable income.

By Matt Bai.

Full story at Yahoo News.