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WASHINGTON -- The Senate has just given final approval to extending a law that allows residents of Florida and six other states without income taxes to deduct state and local sales tax from their federal taxable income.
The special tax break saves Florida residents as much as $1 billion a year.
“This is about making sure Floridians receive the deductions they’re entitled to. Florida’s families shouldn’t be penalized because our state has a different revenue structure,” said GOP Sen. Mel Martinez, a Republican “The sales tax exemption allows Floridians to deduct the sales tax they pay from their federal income tax. The property tax exemption allows non-itemizers to deduct property tax just like itemizers can currently.”
The exemption extensions are good for the tax years 2008 and 2009. Martinez said he has encouraged his colleagues to make the exemptions permanent.
The break has been renewed every two years. But it expired a the end of 2007.
The Senate approved the extensions as part of the Tax Extenders bill. The measure also includes the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) fix – an adjustment to the tax code that protects 20 million Americans from seeing their taxes rise by an average $2,000.
Along with Florida, the special local sales tax deduction lowers federal tax bills for some residents in six other states that also don’t have income taxes - Tennessee, Nevada, Texas, Washington, South Dakota and Wyoming.
The special tax break saves Florida residents as much as $1 billion a year.
“This is about making sure Floridians receive the deductions they’re entitled to. Florida’s families shouldn’t be penalized because our state has a different revenue structure,” said GOP Sen. Mel Martinez, a Republican “The sales tax exemption allows Floridians to deduct the sales tax they pay from their federal income tax. The property tax exemption allows non-itemizers to deduct property tax just like itemizers can currently.”
The exemption extensions are good for the tax years 2008 and 2009. Martinez said he has encouraged his colleagues to make the exemptions permanent.
The break has been renewed every two years. But it expired a the end of 2007.
The Senate approved the extensions as part of the Tax Extenders bill. The measure also includes the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) fix – an adjustment to the tax code that protects 20 million Americans from seeing their taxes rise by an average $2,000.
Along with Florida, the special local sales tax deduction lowers federal tax bills for some residents in six other states that also don’t have income taxes - Tennessee, Nevada, Texas, Washington, South Dakota and Wyoming.