Senate Floor Speech
Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison
February 13, 2006 -- Page: S1120

MRS. HUTCHISON. I wish to speak on the motion made on my behalf by Senator Grassley earlier to instruct conferees to make the sales tax deduction permanent.

This is very important to the States that have a sales tax but no income tax. There are seven States that have no income tax. Yet the citizens of all the other States of our country are able to deduct the income taxes they pay at the State level from their Federal income taxes. Two years ago, we enacted the law that would bring sales-tax States into equity so that every State would be treated the same. We are now faced with another 2-year extension, or we will have this inequity continue because the sales tax deduction that was enacted by Congress lapsed at the end of last year. We have to make this deduction permanent.

I ask that our conferees be instructed to make it permanent so that every person in America can deduct their State taxes, whatever kind of tax that may be, from their Federal income taxes. This is a matter of equity. It is only fair that sales-tax States be treated the same as income-tax States.

I urge my colleagues to vote to make sales tax deductions permanent. Give people a choice. That is the right thing to do.