[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 13]
[House]
[Pages 17587-17588]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




          GRANTING SALES TAX DEDUCTION ON FEDERAL TAX RETURNS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from Tennessee (Mrs. Blackburn) is recognized for 5 
minutes.
  Mrs. BLACKBURN. Mr. Speaker, in 1999 I began battling imposition of a 
State income tax in Tennessee. Our State spent 4 years debating the 
ability of government to levy new taxes and the meaning of tax 
fairness. The battle was long, and it engaged virtually every taxpayer 
in Tennessee. At the end of the day, those that supported the State 
income tax lost. Tennessee stood up and said enough is enough, and they 
rejected a massive tax increase.
  Traveling through our beautiful State, I met people in city halls, 
people in coffee shops, and I gained tremendous appreciation for what 
those patriots must have felt when they dumped the tea into the Boston 
Harbor during the Boston Tea Party. I really continue to take heart in 
the way average citizens, people who have really never taken an 
interest in politics, the way they have become marching, sign-waving, 
horn-honking activists, and the way they have united against another 
tax increase.
  With the defeat of a State income tax in Tennessee, I came to 
Washington prepared to work for legislation that would allow citizens 
of States without a State income tax the right to deduct the sales tax 
from their Federal income tax filings. Right now, if you pay State 
income taxes, you can deduct those payments on your Federal returns, 
but if you only pay sales tax, you cannot deduct it, and that is 
unfair.
  The Nation's Tax Code effectively punishes States without an income 
tax, States like Tennessee, Texas, Florida, Washington, Wyoming and 
South Dakota.
  Mr. Speaker, there are more than 53 million people that live in 
States that do not have a State income tax. That is nearly 20 percent 
of our entire population. I want to say that one more time. There are 
nearly 53 million people that live in States without a State income 
tax. That is nearly 20 percent of our entire population. And these 
people are being penalized every single year when they fill out their 
Federal income tax filing. All of these people have been or will be 
taxpayers, and they deserve tax fairness.
  America's seniors would also be supportive of this effort. There are 
millions of seniors in this country. Many probably do not have a great 
deal of State income tax payments to deduct on their Federal returns, 
but they certainly have State sales tax payments. So the support is 
clear. There are millions of Americans in States across the Nation who 
want and deserve this deduction.

[[Page 17588]]

  Mr. Speaker, I have made this a priority. I have worked very closely 
with the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Brady), the gentlewoman from Wyoming 
(Mrs. Cubin), the gentlewoman from Washington (Ms. Dunn), and our 
majority leader, the gentleman from Texas (Mr. DeLay). I have testified 
before the Committee on Ways and Means on this issue, and I have taken 
every opportunity to talk to Members and work with Members on both 
sides of the aisle on this most important issue.
  The sweat is paying off. Today the New York Times drew attention to 
this issue and pointed to this House's engagement on the effort. There 
have been articles in papers across Tennessee, Florida, Washington, and 
the list goes on and on. The word is spreading. We are closer than ever 
before to winning passage of a sales tax deduction, but the time is not 
here for celebration. It is time to put our noses to the grindstone and 
work to find the right vehicle for the sales tax deduction.
  The momentum is building, and it is time for fairness for the people 
who live in States without a State income tax. They deserve this 
deduction, and it is time for them to have it.

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