FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 2, 2005
CONTACT: Chris Paulitz
March 2, 2005
The Honorable Judd Gregg
Chairman
Senate Budget Committee
624 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510
The Honorable Kent Conrad
Ranking Democrat
Senate Budget Committee
624 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510
Dear Chairman Gregg and Ranking Democrat Conrad:
We are writing to express our strong support for including an extension of the deduction for state sales taxes in the FY 2006 budget resolution to be reported by your committee.
The deduction for state sales taxes was included in last year’s American Jobs Creation Act to restore fairness to the tax code. Reinstating this deduction eliminates any Federal bias regarding the type of taxes a state uses for its revenue source. However, this deduction is only in effect for 2004 and 2005, while the deduction for state income taxes is not subject to a similar sunset. In order to prevent this inequality from returning, we ask that a permanent extension of the sales tax deduction be included in the revenue assumptions for this year’s budget.
We look forward to working with you as this year’s budget is developed to ensure that this deduction is permanently extended, so no citizen has to pay taxes on their state and local taxes.
Sincerely,
Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison | Senator Maria Cantwell |
Senator Tim Johnson | Senator Mel Martinez |
Senator Patty Murray | Senator Bill Nelson | Senator John Thune |