The House Ways and Means Committee yesterday approved a package of tax legislation which extends for one year the ability of Tennesseans to deduct the state's sales tax from their federal taxes.

While Congressman Wamp said he was "very pleased" the Ways and Means Committee chose to include this important provision in their tax bill, he said he will continue fighting to make that provision permanent because the repeal of the sales tax deduction in 1986 caused a significant gap between states that raise revenue using an income tax and those using a sales tax. 

"Residents in a sales tax state, like Tennessee, pay higher taxes to the federal government compared to a similar taxpayer from states that have an income tax," Wamp said. "This is simply unfair. Tennesseans deserve a remedy to this inequity so we keep more of our hard-earned money and not be unfairly treated in federal tax law."

This is the first step in the process. Should the full House approve the Ways and Means Committee's proposed bill, House and Senate leaders would appoint members to a conference committee which would sort out the differences between the House and Senate tax bills.