California looks for ways around federal tax changes

SACRAMENTO — Democratic California lawmakers are exploring ways to blunt the impact of the new federal tax law on the state's taxpayers.

Federal law has long allowed people to deduct their state and local taxes from their federal tax bill. But the tax overhaul signed last month by President Donald Trump caps that deduction at $10,000.

The change will be especially notable in high-tax states like California, where a third of taxpayers claimed the deduction, on average amounting to more than $10,000.

Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de Leon plans to introduce legislation allowing people to make a donation to the state in lieu of income taxes. That would allow them to claim the federal charitable deduction, therefore getting around the change.

De Leon, of Los Angeles, is running for U.S. Senate.