The Republican tax plan caps the mortgage interest deduction at $500,000. The Washington Post today has a lovely chart showing which states this hits most heavily:
Blue states are footing nearly the entire bill for this. But maybe it’s just a coincidence. I decided to try my hand at a couple of more charts. Here’s the state and local tax deduction:
Blue states again! Go figure. The GOP plan also ends the deduction for student loan interest. I don’t happen to have data for that by state, but I do have the percentage of each state’s population with a bachelor’s degree. That’s probably a decent proxy:
Blue states are the big losers again. Needless to say, this is a double whammy since students themselves are heavy Democratic voters. I’m afraid to look at the distribution of deductions for adoptions and medical expenses, which have also been axed in the Republican plan.
Has there ever been a tax proposal in recent history so obviously aimed at punishing voters of a particular political party? I sure don’t remember one.
NOTE: All of these charts use percentages, not raw numbers. Blue states aren’t getting screwed just because they’re bigger. They’re getting screwed because they have bigger shares of expensive housing, high wages, and educated residents.
