[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 96 (Thursday, July 20, 2006)]
[House]
[Pages H5494-H5495]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   SUPPORT HOMEOWNERS TAX RELIEF ACT

  (Mrs. KELLY asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Mrs. KELLY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to urge passage of the 
Homeowners Tax Relief Act. I have introduced this act to help bring 
much-needed property tax relief to middle-class families.
  Taxes are one of the most critical issues our constituents face. When 
I talk with residents of the Hudson Valley in my New York district, 
they repeatedly tell me they are at wit's end because their property 
tax rates are increasing faster than their incomes.
  We have passed significant tax relief legislation in this Congress, 
but we can do more to show our constituents that we are committed to 
tax cuts, not tax increases.

[[Page H5495]]

  My legislation is particularly aimed to help middle-class families. 
It would enable homeowners to deduct on their Federal tax forms the 
amount of property and school taxes that they pay in excess of the 
national average. This also brings a first-of-its-kind property tax 
deduction to residents who use the standard deduction. The IRS 
estimates that two-thirds of taxpayers use the standard deduction. They 
would be able to get this tax relief.
  Mr. Speaker, both Republican and Democrat cosponsors are on my bill. 
We need to move it forward to bring additional tax relief to middle-
class families in New York and throughout the country.

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