Washington, D.C. - As millions of Americans filed their federal income tax returns this week, Congressman Brian Baird (WA-03) today renewed his fight to ensure that the sales tax deduction is either made permanent or extended so that taxpayers are able to deduct sales tax from their annual federal income tax returns.

In a letter sent to the House Committee on Ways and Means today, Congressman Baird urged Chairman, Rep. Charlie Rangel (NY-15) and Ranking Member, Rep. Jim Mcrery (LA-4) to extend the sales tax deduction through 2008, so that residents in states with no income tax will be able to deduct their state sales taxes from their federal income returns. 

"The issues of fairness, certainty, and predictability in our tax code should be of utmost importance to this Congress, especially in light of our nation's current economic condition," said Rep. Baird in a letter to the Ways and Means Committee. "During these trying economic times, we believe it is critical for our constituents to know whether a tax deduction or incentive will be available in the future so that they can make informed decisions about their finances. Our goal is to provide our constituents with the same predictability afforded to residents of states with an income tax, and to preclude the need for retroactive extensions."

Last year, Congressman Baird worked with members on both sides of the aisle to include an extension of the deductibility of state sales taxes in the Temporary Tax Relief Act of 2007.  While the House passed this measure, the Senate removed the extension from its version of the bill.
As a member of the House Budget Committee, Rep. Baird was instrumental in securing an extension of the sales tax deduction in the FY09 House Budget Resolution that passed the House in March, which creates a reserve fund that allows for legislation extending sales tax deductibility to be passed into law.

Since entering Congress, Rep. Baird has worked tirelessly to build a strong bipartisan coalition of lawmakers from seven states that, like Washington, have state sales taxes but no state income tax. Together with his Republican cosponsor, Kevin Brady from Texas, and with leadership in the Senate from Washington Senator Maria Cantwell, Rep. Baird succeeded in changing the law and making sales tax deductibility a reality.  A fellow member of Congress declared Congressman Baird the "father of sales tax deductibility."

This deduction saves Washington state families more than $350 million every year on their federal income tax returns, resulting in more than $530 million in additional economic activity in Washington.  Having achieved this first, short-term goal, Congressman Baird is now working to make the deduction permanent and has introduced the Permanent Sales Tax Deduction Act.

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