Stephanie Herseth Sandlin: “I rise today to claim a victory for Texans, but I remain uncertain that this bill is a victory for Americans or American…”

“I rise today to claim a victory for Texans, but I remain uncertain that this bill is a victory for Americans or American jobs. For Texans, I am pleased that after a great many months of work and much discussion, this legislation finally returns some fairness to our nation's tax code that had been missing for almost twenty years. Since 1986, some 54 million American taxpayers--almost 20% of our nation's population--have been denied the ability to deduct the state tax burden they bear from their income solely because the seven states where they live rely only on a retail sales tax to meet their needs. Mr. Speaker, as a consequence of the reinstatement of the deductibility of sales tax provided in this bill, the taxpayers in my home state of Texas will save almost a billion dollars from their federal income tax burden in this year alone. That works out to around $300 in federal tax savings for every family in Texas, and, Mr. Speaker, that's a good thing. This bill is not. While I am pleased that this legislation provides 22 million Texans with the ability to deduct their state tax burden from their income, I am disappointed that Chairman Thomas's provision only allows Texans this benefit for two years.”