{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["http://veasey.house.gov//media-center/press-releases/rep-veasey-votes-in-favor-of-tax-extenders-package", "Rep. Veasey Votes in Favor of Tax Extenders Package", "2014-12-03", "2014", "2014-12", "Democrat", "House", "TX", "Marc Veasey", "V000131", "veasey.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Washington, D.C. \u2014 Today, Congressman Marc Veasey, TX-33, voted in favor of H.R. 5771, the Tax Increase Prevention Act of 2014, a bill that would renew approximately 50 tax benefits that expired at the end of 2013 or during 2014.\n\u201cWhile today\u2019s legislation is not perfect, it is imperative that we offer some form of certainty to individuals and businesses as they begin the process of filing their taxes for 2014,\u201d said Veasey. \u201cI am hopeful that we will move forward in the next Congress to enact comprehensive tax reform and pass long-term tax policies that help grow our economy and help individuals succeed.\u201d\nA key provision in the bill is a tax deduction for state and local sales tax. As residents of Texas do not pay income tax, if this key deduction is not renewed, some Texans will see their share of federal taxes increase significantly. According to the Pew Charitable Trust, nearly 1 in 5 Texans utilized the tax provision last year. In addition, the Texas state comptroller stated that Texas residents run the risk of owing an additional $1.2 billion to the IRS in April if Congress fails to act.\nH.R. 5771 included a number of tax extenders to help low- and middle-class families including:\n Extension of the deduction for teacher expenses\n\tExtension of portions of the mortgage interest deduction\n\tExtension of the deduction for qualified tuition expenses\n\tExtension of the New Markets tax credit\n\tExtension of the Work Opportunity tax credit\n\tExtension of the energy-efficient new homes credit\n\tExtension of the wind energy credit\n Congressman Veasey has been an advocate in protecting the state\u2019s economy. In January 2014, Congressman Veasey signed onto a bi-partisan letter to ensure that the House of Representatives extended the sales tax deduction as part of any tax extenders package.\nA copy of the letter can be found below.\n\u00a0\n###\n\u00a0\nJanuary 29, 2014\n\u00a0\n\u00a0\nThe Honorable Dave Camp \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 The Honorable Sander Levin\n\tChairman \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Ranking Member\n\tCommittee on Ways and Means \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Committee on Ways and Means\n\t1102 Longworth House Office Building \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 1106 Longworth House Office Building\n\tWashington, D.C. 20515 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Washington, D.C. 20515\n\u00a0\nDear Chairman Camp and Ranking Member Levin:\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 We write to encourage you to include an extension of the state and local sales tax deduction in any tax extenders package the Committee may consider. Extending the sales tax deduction is critical to ensuring equal tax treatment for residents of states that do not collect an income tax.\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\nAs you know, the sales tax deduction expired on January 1, 2014. This means a disproportionate number of Americans will shoulder a larger share of the federal tax burden if the deduction is not extended.\u00a0\nMore than 20 percent of our nation\u2019s population resides in Alaska, Florida, Nevada, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, and Wyoming, which do not have a state income tax. Instead, these states have opted for a substantial sales tax to finance state and local services. Since residents of these states cannot claim the deduction for state income taxes, extending the sales tax deduction will ensure that millions of Americans are not punished for their state\u2019s preferred tax structure.\nThe sales tax deduction plays a vital role in our states\u2019 economies, spurring growth and creating jobs.\u00a0 Congress restored the deduction ten years ago in the \u201cAmerican Jobs Creation Act of 2004\u201d and since then, the deduction has been extended four times with bipartisan support.\nWhile we will continue our push to make this deduction permanent, we urge you and other Members of the Committee to maintain fairness and certainty in the tax code by extending the sales tax deduction. Thank you for your consideration of this request.", 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": ["http://veasey.house.gov//media-center/press-releases/rep-veasey-votes-in-favor-of-tax-extenders-package"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.8064848370850086, "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"}