[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 14]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 19638]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




  INTRODUCTION OF THE MOBILE WORKFORCE STATE INCOME TAX FAIRNESS AND 
                       SIMPLIFICATION ACT OF 2006

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                           HON. CHRIS CANNON

                                of utah

                    in the house of representatives

                       Monday, September 25, 2006

  Mr. CANNON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to introduce the Mobile 
Workforce State Income Tax Fairness and Simplification Act of 2006. The 
issues addressed by this legislation impact many thousands of 
individuals and businesses every year in our country. My purpose in 
introducing this bill is to begin a discussion on these important 
issues.
  In today's economy, many individuals are required to travel outside 
of their state of residence to engage in business. Most of these trips 
are for a brief duration as the employee works in a non-resident state 
for a short time and then returns to his/her state of residence. 
Despite the brief presence these individuals may have in non-resident 
states, many states impose a personal income tax on individuals and a 
corresponding withholding obligation on employers. States currently 
have widely inconsistent standards for such individuals to file non-
resident personal income tax returns, and inconsistent requirements for 
employers to withhold income taxes on these employees.
  Concerns have been raised that the vast majority of individuals are 
not aware of these varied state filing requirements. Concerns have also 
been raised that many employers do not have payroll systems that track 
employee travel and are consequently required to incur extraordinary 
and inappropriate expenses to attempt to comply with these various 
withholding requirements.
  A uniform, fair and easily administrable law to address these issues, 
including appropriate de minimis rules would appear to ensure that the 
correct amount of income tax is paid without placing an undue burden on 
individuals or employers. Any solution to these issues would continue 
to provide full taxation of an individual's wages in a resident state 
to the extent the resident state determines to impose an income tax on 
its residents.

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