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News
from Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin
For Immediate Release
Contact: Russ Levsen, 202-226-4449
HOUSE
PASSES MIDDLE-CLASS TAX RELIEF
Herseth
Sandlin Supports Bill to Prevent Tax Increase on 38,000 South Dakota
Families
Bill
Also Ensures South Dakotans Can Deduct State Sales Tax
November
9, 2007, Washington D.C. -
The U.S. House of Representatives today approved H.R. 3996, the Middle-Class
Tax Relief Bill, which includes a range of tax cuts targeted to benefit
working families in South Dakota and across the country. Rep. Stephanie
Herseth Sandlin supported the bill to protect tens of thousands of South
Dakota families from a significant and unacceptable tax increase.
The Middle-Class
Tax Relief Bill heads off a considerable expansion in the Alternative
Minimum Tax, or AMT, which will ensnare more than 23 million additional
households nationwide in 2007, including more than 38,000 additional
households in South Dakota. The bill also extends a number of important
tax credits and deductions that expire at the end of the year, including
the state sales tax deduction for states, like South Dakota, that do
not have a state income tax.
In South Dakota,
2,806 households paid the Alternative Minimum Tax for 2005. However,
if Congress fails to take action, that number is estimated to rise to
41,658 households who would be subject to the tax in 2007 – an increase
of 38,852, or 1385% over the two year period. The Middle-Class Tax Relief
Bill would ensure that these families will be protected from this tax
increase.
Rep. Herseth Sandlin
said, “The AMT is a ticking time bomb that threatens to affect far more
South Dakota families than it should. This bill is a responsible way
to prevent that from happening and to protect middle-class families
from paying substantially higher taxes.”
In addition to heading
off the Alternative Minimum Tax increase on 38,000 South Dakota families,
the Middle Class Tax Relief Bill would:
- Provide 30 million
homeowners with property tax relief;
- Help 12 million
children by expanding the child tax credit;
- Benefit 11 million
families through the State and local sales tax deduction;
- Help 4.5 million
families better afford college with the tuition deduction;
- Save 3.4 million
teachers money with a deduction for classroom expenses;
- Provide thousands
of American troops in combat with tax relief under the Earned Income
Tax Credit; and
- Extend the R&D
tax credit to promote innovation and high-paying jobs.
Importantly, in
accordance with the fiscally responsible pay-as-you-go House budget
rules passed at the beginning of this Congress, the Middle-Class Tax
Relief Bill does not increase the national deficit. The bill restores
fairness to the tax code and closes wasteful tax loopholes that allow
a privileged few on Wall Street to pay a lower tax rate on their income
than other hardworking Americans.
Herseth Sandlin
added, “When thousands of South Dakota families are going to get hit
with a new, unintended income tax, there is clearly something wrong
with our federal tax policy. This bill makes our tax code more responsible
and equitable, and at the same time is fiscally responsible because
it doesn’t add to our national debt.”
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Congresswoman
Stephanie Herseth Sandlin serves South Dakota in the U.S. House of Representatives.
She is a member of the Blue Dog Coalition, a group of moderate Democrats
committed to fiscal discipline and strong national security, and is
co-chair of the Rural Working Group, which is dedicated to raising the
profile of issues important to rural America. She also serves on three
committees vital to South Dakota’s interests: Agriculture, Veterans’
Affairs and Natural Resources. In the 110th Congress, Rep. Herseth Sandlin
was one of only 15 members appointed to serve on the Select Committee
on Energy Independence and Global Warming.
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