Davis, Blackburn Endorse Sales Tax Deduction
By Clint Confehr
The Review Appeal
February 11, 2003

Members of the state's delegation to Congress are endorsing legislation so Tennesseans can deduct the amount of money they spend on state sales taxes from their gross income before calculating what they owe to Uncle Sam.

"We're working to restore the sales tax write off," says U.S. Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-Brentwood) who notes that Rep. Kevin Brady of Texas worked on such legislation last year while she sought such relief working as a state senator.

Eight states don't have an income tax, so there's no way to deduct what a household spends on sales taxes in Tennessee or seven other states. The impact on Tennesseans increased last year when state lawmakers raised the sales tax by 1 percent, thereby costing Spring Hill residents 9-3/4 cents per dollar spent instead of 8-3/4 percent.

Blackburn says she's working to "restore the … write off" because more than 17 years ago, sales taxes were deductible, although at that time, the deduction was frequently based on sales receipts' record of each sales tax payment.

Taxpayers wouldn't have to save sales slips all year long under the proposal endorsed by
Blackburn because "There will be a deduction chart and it will restore the law to where it was prior to 1986," she said Sunday.

If the legislation, also endorsed by U.S. Reps. Lincoln Davis (D-Pall Mall) and Jim Cooper (D-Nashville, is successful, then for every dollar spent on groceries and other taxable goods, area residents would be able to deduct nearly a dime from their gross income before computing their income tax payment.

"Today," Davis said, endorsing such change, "the federal government has a habit of taxing taxes. We should allow the deduction of the sales tax."

Cooper, successor of former U.S. Rep Bob Clement in Nashville, continued the effort by Clement in recent years by filing a bill on the second day of the current session in Congress.

Blackburn is a co-sponsor of a similar bill she'd discussed last year with Texas Congressman Brady.

"We've got seven original co-sponsors and we will have more by the end of the week," Blackburn said.

She said she believes U.S. Sens. Bill Frist and Lamar Alexander would endorse the legislation, "because it will be good for Tennessee," but she'd not spoken with the senators about it because taxation legislation starts in the House and is then referred to the Senate.

Blackburn described her tax cutting efforts while traveling back to Washington from the Greenbriar resort in West Virginia where President Bush met with Republican officials on the GOP agenda for this year.

"The Republican Conference has been well worth its time," she said. "Our President did a good job describing things that are important to him. We're inspired and ready to get to the work before us."

Bush spoke of his jobs and economic growth plan, she said, noting the intention to "leave money in taxpayers pockets … growing the economy long range … making the tax cut permanent, eliminating the death tax (and) elimination of the marriage penalty," Blackburn said.