In a video released by the White House last week, leaders of the Boston Firefighters Union expressed their support for President Donald Trump’s massive tax relief and budget cutbacks measure.
Vice President JD Vance’s tie-breaking vote on Tuesday helped the Senate pass the One Big Beautiful Bill Act by a slim margin; the bill will now return to the House. Republicans opposed the plan because they feared it would increase the national deficit and deprive millions of people of Medicaid health care.
The official White House and POTUS accounts shared a video on Instagram on Sunday featuring Boston Firefighters Local 718 President Sam Dillon and Vice President Leroy Heyward. The caption reads, “The International Association of Fire Fighters traveled to the capital to support the bill.”
“Our members will receive immediate assistance and relief from President Trump’s plan to reduce SALT, preventing them from being forced out of the communities that we live in, take pride in, and serve in times of crisis,” Dillon stated in the video.
The $10,000 federal deduction threshold for state and local taxes is known as the SALT, or state and local tax, deduction cap. According to the Tax Foundation, the SALT deduction unfairly favors high-income taxpayers by allowing itemizing taxpayers to deduct income, sales, or property taxes already paid to state and local governments.
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 was the legislation that first established the $10,000 cap. According to CNBC, the Senate’s bill would increase that maximum to $40,000 until 2030, at which point it would return to the $10,000 cap. According to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, the Senate-passed bill is anticipated to increase the national debt by almost $4 trillion by the end of Fiscal Year 2034.
Heyward also mentioned President Donald Trump’s additional $4,000 tax relief in the video.
President Trump wants to give Americans an additional tax relief of $4,000. “For many of our citizens, our seniors, and our firefighters, that is huge,” Heyward added. That might make the difference between putting food on the table, paying your rent, and paying your mortgage.
Even if they itemize their deductions, eligible seniors over 65 would be eligible for the additional $4,000 tax deduction, according to the Bipartisan Policy Center.
The bill’s tax advantages for seniors on social security, the removal of overtime taxes, and tax credits for childcare and in-home services were emphasized by other firefighters in the film.
According to Dillon, the Boston HeraldThe union made the nonpartisan choice to voice its opposition to the bill.
In a statement to Boston.com, Dillon stated that Local 718 advocated for parts of the measure that will benefit our members. In order to advocate for firefighters and our families, we will interact with public officials from any political party or background when given the chance.
Molly Farrar works for Boston.com as a general assignment reporter, covering topics such as politics, crime, and education.
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