ALBANY – President Donald Trump's administration has again asked a federal judge to toss New York's attempt to invalidate a $10,000 cap on state and local tax deductions, calling it a "classically political" argument that isn't suited for a court.

In court filings late last month, the U.S. Department of Justice refuted claims from New York, New Jersey and two other Democrat-led states, which had filed a joint lawsuit last year arguing that the cap infringed on their constitutional right to tax as they see fit.

The Justice Department claims the states haven't suffered "concrete" and "imminent" harm from the cap, which means they would lack standing to sue.

"(Much) of the states’ purported 'evidence' of targeted, differential harm is questionable at best," attorneys for the Justice Department and the U.S. Attorney's Office for New York's Southern District wrote.

$10K cap on state, local tax deductions

The cap, known as the SALT cap, was part of the Republicans' federal tax reform plan in 2017.

It limits taxpayers from deducting more than $10,000 in state and local taxes — including property tax and income tax — on their federal returns. There was previously no limit, and the cap helped pay for other tax cuts included in the plan.

The four states, which also includes Connecticut and Maryland, argued in their original lawsuit that the cap was an "unconstitutional assault" that was designed to force blue states to cut public spending.

They argued New York taxpayers would pay an extra $14.3 billion in federal taxes in 2018.

More:New York, 3 other states sue over federal tax reform law

More:Whew! How NYers may avoid a $1.5B income-tax hit

Feds push back

But the Justice Department pushed back against that narrative in their Feb. 28 filing, arguing that the states' analyses were often based on what their taxpayers would have paid had the GOP tax plan not included the cap — something that was never under consideration.

The federal government's filing was first reported by the New York Law Journal.

The Justice Department first sought to have the case tossed in November after the lawsuit was filed in July.

"They argue that the 2017 Tax Act was expressly 'designed' to penalize their taxpayers while rewarding those in other states ... but marshal little support for this conclusory point," the Justice Department wrote.

The filing continues: "In sum, the states fall far short of demonstrating that the SALT deduction cap targeted them in any way, much less in a constitutionally impermissible manner."

More:New York faces a shortfall of $2.3B in tax revenue and blames Washington

More:If you cheat the STAR program in New York, you could be banned from the tax breaks

Cuomo organizing opposition

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat, has railed against the SALT cap, calling it a direct attack on Democratic states and organizing governors of his party to fight back.

He has claimed the cap is primarily responsible for a $2.3 billion revenue shortfall in New York.

“The Trump administration's recent court filing once again demonstrates that there is no legal principle, no rational legal argument, and no precedent that supports the blatant and targeted assault on New York and other Democratic blue states," Cuomo spokesman Jason Conwall said in a statement.

"This illegal assault has already cost New York $2.3 billion in lost personal income tax revenue and we will continue to aggressively fight against it in court.”

JCAMPBELL1@Gannett.com