{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://issa.house.gov/news-room/press-releases/issa-implores-tax-conference-committee-restore-salt-and-wildfire-tax", "Issa Implores Tax Conference Committee To Restore SALT and Wildfire Tax Deductions", "2017-12-12", "2017", "2017-12", "Republican", "House", "CA", "Darrell Issa", "I000056", "issa.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Congressman Darrell Issa (R-Vista) today sent a letter to members of the Conference Committee on tax reform, urging them to restore the state and local tax deduction (SALT) and deductions for the victims of wildfires to the final bill. In his message, Congressman Issa also enclosed letters he received from local officials in his district asking him to keep SALT in place, given its importance to California taxpayers.\u00a0\n\tDecember 12, 2017\n\t\u00a0\n\tDear Leader McConnell, Speaker Ryan, Leader Schumer, Leader Pelosi and Conferees,\n\t\u00a0\n\tI write to express serious concerns with the House and Senate passed tax reform proposals which, as written, could leave many constituents in my district facing significant tax increases. As the Conference Committee works toward a final package, I ask that changes be made to ensure that the final plan will bring relief for all of our nation\u2019s taxpayers \u2013 California residents\n\tincluded.\n\t\u00a0\n\tIt\u2019s been more than three decades since we\u2019ve overhauled our tax code. We have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to deliver real reprieve from years of heavy-handed, misguided tax policy that has left millions paying more to their government and getting less in return. We must not squander this moment by passing a bill that does not allow all hard-working taxpayers to see\n\trelief.\n\t\u00a0\n\tDone correctly, tax reform has the potential to restore America\u2019s global competitiveness, generate widespread economic opportunity, unleash untold levels of job creation, and allow families to keep even more of their hard-earned paychecks. Done poorly, a tax bill would pick winners and losers, and unnecessarily punish some taxpayers to the benefit of others.\n\t\u00a0\n\tAs its written today, I fear the bill looks more like the latter than the former.\n\t\u00a0\n\tCalifornians already endure some of the highest housing costs, the highest state sales taxes, the highest state income taxes, and the highest gas prices in the nation. They\u2019ve been buried under the weight of high state tax and regulatory burdens which, together, have made it increasingly difficult to get ahead.\n\t\u00a0\n\tYes, the tax factory known as the California State Legislature is the root cause of the problem. But my constituents did not ask me \u2013 or any Republican for that matter \u2013 to vote to make their tax burden even worse.\n\t\u00a0\n\tThe House and Senate tax reform proposals do not guarantee relief for constituents in my district, and in fact, may result in a net increase in their financial liability to the federal government. Among the plan\u2019s deficiencies is the elimination of the State and Local Tax Deduction (SALT) which since the advent of our federal income tax has prevented the double taxation of Americans\u2019 income and allowed states to operate as laboratories of experiment as our founders intended. Eliminating this important deduction would be a mistake that would undo years of precedent that, in our federalist system, has said that the federal government may calculate its tax liability only after state and local taxes have first been deducted.\n\t\u00a0\n\tUnlike other states \u2013 Wisconsin and Kentucky, for example \u2013 California is a donor state, meaning it gets back less from the federal government than it pays in. Without changes to this plan, taxpayers in my state will continue being asked to pay even more only to subsidize benefits for citizens elsewhere.\n\t\u00a0\n\tFurthermore, as devastating wildfires continue to ravage our state, it would be unthinkable to do away with important and much-needed relief for constituents who\u2019ve lost their homes, property and livelihoods. We must ensure that those who\u2019ve already lost so much, won\u2019t be left without the important relief they need to rebuild and restore their lives. I know Majority Leader McCarthy and others are working diligently to address this concern by the end of the year, but we must ensure disaster relief is not weakened through this tax bill.\n\t\u00a0\n\tI implore the Conference Committee to include these proposals, as many of the cities I represent suggest in the enclosed letters. We have the opportunity to make the tax code work for all Americans. Now, let\u2019s get the details right.\n\t\u00a0\n\tSincerely,\n\t\u00a0\n\tCongressman Darrell Issa", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://issa.house.gov/news-room/press-releases/issa-implores-tax-conference-committee-restore-salt-and-wildfire-tax"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.790883019566536, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}