Drafter
Clerk 2/12/2007
Title
A MOTION thanking the Washington state congressional delegation for its successful efforts to obtain enactment of bill H.R. 6111, amending the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to continue the deduction of state and local general sales taxes in lieu of state and local income taxes for the 2006 and 2007 tax years to provide a fair federal income tax structure for the people of Washington, Florida, Nevada, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas and Wyoming; and for introducing House bill H.R. 60 and Senate bill S. 143 in the current session of Congress to make permanent the deduction of state and local general sales taxes.
Body
WHEREAS, the federal tax reform act of 1986 unfairly penalized the taxpayers of King County and the state of Washington by eliminating the state and local retail sales tax deduction in the calculation of federal income taxes owed, and
WHEREAS, from 1986 until 2004 federal law allowed taxpayers in over forty states to deduct their state income tax from their federal tax return, but did not allow the deduction of state and local sales taxes for those residents of states without an income tax, including Washington, Florida, Nevada, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas and Wyoming, and
WHEREAS, from 1986 to 2004 two families with the same salary and identical financial profiles were taxed differently under the federal tax code simply because they lived in states with different local tax structures, and
WHEREAS, almost one million working men and women living in King County paid disproportionately higher federal income taxes than similar families across America, because King County residents were not able to deduct Washington state and local sales taxes from their federal income tax returns, and
WHEREAS, through the efforts of the Washington state congressional delegation federal legislation was enacted allowing the deduction of state and local general sales taxes in lieu of state and local income taxes for the 2004 and 2005 tax years, but that legislation was limited to the 2004 and 2005 tax years, and
WHEREAS, with the continuation of the retail sales tax deduction, taxpayers of King County who itemize their deductions will realize substantial savings, estimated at an average of five hundred nineteen to five hundred seventy-five dollars per family in their federal income taxes, for a total savings to Washington State residents of four hundred eighty-eight million to five hundred forty-one million dollars per year, and
WHEREAS, the metropolitan King County council has consistently advocated federal tax equity for county residents, urging the United States Congress to restore the state and local sales tax deduction in lieu of state income taxes, and
WHEREAS, city and county officials have joined together to request amendments to the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to restore the deduction of state and local sales taxes in lieu of state and local income taxes, with joint letters of support submitted to the state congressional delegation, and
WHEREAS, the Congress of the United States has approved bill H.R. 6111, which amends the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow a deduction of state and local sales taxes in lieu of state and local income taxes for the 2006 and 2007 tax years, and the President has signed the bill into law, thereby restoring tax equity by allowing Washington state taxpayers to deduct state and local sales taxes from their 2006 and 2007 federal income tax returns, and
WHEREAS, the members of the Washington state congressional delegation have introduced House bill H.R. 60 and Senate bill S. 143 in the current session of Congress to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to make permanent the deduction of state and local general sales taxes;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT MOVED by the Council of King County:
The King County council respectfully expresses its gratitude to the members of the Washington state congressional delegation for their successful efforts in passing H.R. 6111 to restore tax equity to the fifty-two million residents of Washington, Florida, Nevada, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas and Wyoming and persuading President George W. Bush to sign the legislation into law as Public Law 109; and for introducing House bill H.R. 60 and Senate bill S. 143 in the current session of Congress to make permanent the deduction of state and local general sales taxes.