"I don’t want to speculate on what people will do, but I think it’s one of the more ridiculous comments to think you can take a real estate tax that you are required to make and dress that up as a charitable contribution,” Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said. | Drew Angerer/Getty Images Mnuchin: Deducting property tax as charity is 'ridiculous'

The idea that individuals will skirt new limits on deducting state and local taxes is “ridiculous,” Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Thursday afternoon, highlighting concerns that people might be able to pay property taxes and claim them as a charitable deduction.

“Let me just say again from a Treasury standpoint and IRS, I don’t want to speculate on what people will do, but I think it’s one of the more ridiculous comments to think you can take a real estate tax that you are required to make and dress that up as a charitable contribution,” Mnuchin told reporters at the daily White House press briefing. “I hope that the states are more focused on cutting their budgets and giving tax cuts to their people in their states than they are in trying to evade the law.”


The recently enacted GOP tax plan has been seen as a threat to high-tax states like California, New York and New Jersey, where voters in expensive areas are set to lose as a result of the cap on what are known as SALT deductions. However, workarounds, including the donation-and-credit approach, could result in major challenges from the IRS and Republican lawmakers.

