[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 48 (Thursday, March 25, 1999)]
[House]
[Pages H1791-H1792]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           TRANSPORTATION EMPLOYEE FAIR TAXATION ACT OF 1999

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Washington (Mr. Baird) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. BAIRD. Madam Speaker, I rise today to introduce important 
legislation to provide tax fairness for thousands of hard-working 
Americans throughout this Nation who are employed by interstate water 
carriers. I am talking about river boat pilots, I am talking about men 
and women who work on barges, and I am talking about

[[Page H1792]]

other hard-working crew members who do an honest day's work and want a 
fair shake when it comes to paying their taxes.
  Madam Speaker, I am deeply concerned that a significant number of 
interstate waterway employees who are employed on vessels that operate 
on the Columbia River, the Mississippi, the Ohio, the Missouri, the 
Kanawha, and many other inland waterways throughout this Nation may be 
double or even triple-taxed for their labor. These river pilots, 
officers and other crew members perform most of their work on rivers 
which flow through multiple States, and in many cases these folks are 
subject to income tax filings and additional withholdings from multiple 
States.
  The rivers these folks navigate, whether it be for shipping, for 
transporting passengers, for tourism or other purposes often course 
through the territories of multiple States. That is a fact of nature, 
and because of that fact the folks who ply their trade on these rivers 
are subject to taxation by several States. That is simply not fair.
  When truck drivers, railway workers and aviation employees go about 
their jobs, all of whom are required to conduct their work in States 
other than their home State, Congress has seen fit to grant them an 
exemption from this double or triple taxation unless a majority of the 
work is performed in another State.

                              {time}  2015

  This is not so for interstate waterway employees. No. If one is a 
crew member on a barge, they can be required to pay taxes in several 
States, and that is simply not fair.
  An airline pilot, for example, is subject to taxation by the State in 
which the pilot resides, period. Only if pilots earn 50 percent or more 
of their income while working in another State are they subject to 
taxation by that other State. This restriction, for all practical 
purposes, exempts airline employees from multiple taxation. However, 
interstate water carriers, bargemen, river boat pilots, ferry boat 
operators, for some reason these people are treated differently, and 
that is simply not fair.
  Frankly, Madam Speaker, it is a clear example of taxation without 
representation, an obvious oversight of this body.
  Over the past 22 years, Congress has acted to address inequities in 
the Tax Code when it dealt with interstate transportation employees. I 
am asking my colleagues today to again take action to address and 
correct this problem.
  Interstate waterway employees are devoted, hard working folks, who 
provide essential transportation services throughout our Nation and pay 
their fair share of taxes in their home States. Additionally, the 
companies which employ these workers contribute significantly to the 
economic well-being of the State's concerns. Yet, Madam Speaker, due to 
an existing oversight, workers living in my district in southwest 
Washington may be subject to additional tax burdens imposed by other 
States along the Columbia River.
  The current law allows States to impose additional taxes based on the 
percentage of time their vessel was docked or operating in those 
States' waters and I will say it again, that is simply not fair.
  Madam Speaker, we can do something about that. We can make the law 
fair and we can make it apply equally to everyone.
  Madam Speaker, the legislation I am introducing today, the 
Transportation Employee Fair Taxation Act of 1999, will correct this 
oversight.
  My bill will expressly prohibit the taxation of income earned by 
waterway workers by States other than the ones in which the workers 
reside. It will close the unfortunate loophole that says we treat all 
the other groups of interstate workers one way and bargemen and river 
pilots the other.
  It is not complex legislation. It is very straightforward. It is not 
lengthy legislation. It is a two-page bill. But it is good legislation. 
It is needed legislation and it is fair legislation. I am proud to say 
also that it is bipartisan legislation.
  Of the 12 original cosponsors of this measure, 8 are Democrats and 4 
are Republicans. So I urge my colleagues from both parties to join in 
this effort, to ensure tax fairness for all of our citizens by taking 
swift action to pass this bill.

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