In an interview with Axios on HBO, Sen. Bernie Sanders (D-VT) announced his opposition to Democrats’ proposal to repeal the State and Local Tax deduction (SALT) cap, calling it a “tax break for rich people in blue states.”

Sen. Sanders went on to say repealing the SALT cap sends a, “terrible, terrible message… You can’t be on the side of the wealthy and the powerful if you’re going to really fight for working families.”

Exactly what we’ve been saying.

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

• The Institute of Taxation on Economic Policy (ITEP) estimated last month that 85 percent of the tax cuts from a SALT cap repeal would go to the richest 5 percent of taxpayers, mostly in high-tax states like New York and California.
• A SALT cap repeal worsens racial income disparities, too. Black families are 42 percent less likely to receive a tax cut than white families, and Hispanic families are 33 percent less likely to see a tax break than white families, the ITEP reports.
• While Democrats push a tax break for the rich, they’re pushing tax hikes on working families. The New York Times editorial board wrote: “A tax cut with such a skewed distribution of benefits ought to be unacceptable to any politician genuinely concerned about the rise of economic inequality.”