Polis Statement on Republican Tax Plan in the House of Representatives

Press Release

Rep. Jared Polis, D-Colo., gave the following statement today after Republicans in the House of Representatives passed their tax plan.

"Throughout the past few days, I have been bowled over with input from my constituents pleading for a tax reform plan that doesn't nail the middle class to the wall. I offered 16 amendments including several bipartisan amendments to the Republican tax plan, based on what I heard from my district, but, each and every one was shot down, as was every other amendment offered," said Polis. "We cannot afford for the plan that Republicans pushed through today to become law. I stand ready to craft a bipartisan tax reform plan that shrinks the national debt and grows the economy."

Polis has received over 2,000 emails and letters, as well as 300 phone calls opposing the Republican tax plan in the House of Representatives, compared to barely 50 calls, letters, and emails in support.

Polis drafted 16 amendments to the Republican tax plan, briefly described below.

Out-of-Pocket Teacher Expenses Amendment: would have reinstated the eliminated educator tax deduction, which allows teachers to claim a deduction of up to $250 for school supplies they purchased from their personal income.

Employer-Provided Student Loan Assistance Amendment: would have allowed employers to pay up to $5,250 toward an employee's student loan payments tax-free.

Unborn Child 529 Beneficiary Eligibility Amendment: would have removed "unborn children" as eligible beneficiaries of 529 college savings accounts, only placed in this tax plan as an embarrassingly transparent attempt to undermine women's rights and privacy.

Employer-Provided Tuition Assistance Amendment: would have restored the employer-sponsored tuition assistance tax benefit, which allows employees to receive up to $5,250 annually in education assistance that's excluded from gross income.

Private Activity Bond Restoration Amendment: would have restored the private activity bond that allows private companies to take on public projects that benefit their communities.

Increase Child Tax Credit Amendment: would have increased the child tax credit from $1,000 to $3600 per child and index those dollars for inflation.

Carbon Fee Amendment: states that a carbon fee should be included in any tax reform to reduce taxes across the board and bring back millions of manufacturing jobs that are needed to build clean energy infrastructure and upgrade our grid.

Wind Production Tax Credit Amendment: would have reinstated the production tax credit for the wind power industry to maintain the 100,000 jobs created since 2015 in the wind sector and spur further job growth.

Electric Vehicles Amendment: would have helped promote technology, innovation, and a more sustainable energy source for powering motor vehicles.

Solar EDGE Amendment: Based on Polis's Solar EDGE Act, it would have created a short-term surge of funding in small distributed generation solar systems, which allows companies to reach states that have been left out of this critical clean energy platform.

Expensing of Intangible Drilling Costs Amendment: would have repealed one of the largest and most draconian tax breaks available to the oil industry- the expensing of intangible drilling costs, which allows companies to immediately deduct most of the costs of drilling a new well despite the fact that risks associated with drilling new wells are no longer present.

Master Limited Partnerships Amendments: Master Limited Partnerships, or MLPs, are a corporate form primarily used by natural resource firms to avoid corporate income taxes. The MLP amendment would have prohibited fossil fuel companies from using MLPs, and an alternative amendment would have allowed MLPs to be used by renewable energy companies who currently are prohibited from such use by law.

Marijuana Amendment: would have protected small businesses and dispensaries in the State of Colorado from unsustainable tax burdens by revising Section 280e of the tax code to exempt marijuana sales.

Cryptocurrency Tax Fairness Amendment: Based on Polis's Cryptocurrency Tax Fairness Act of 2017, it would have removed outdated restrictions on cryptocurrencies, like Bitcoin, and other methods of digital payment, allowing consumers to make small purchases with cryptocurrency up to $600 without burdensome reporting requirements.

Kombucha Act Amendment: Based on Polis's KOMBUCHA Act, it would have eased the burden on Kombucha manufacturers, and unleashed the power of an industry pioneered by small businesses and entrepreneurs to sell this probiotic, antioxidant tea.

Limiting Deductions for Lobbying Expenditures Amendment: would have ensured that lobbyists don't get tax breaks from wielding their influence over politicians and lawmakers by removing existing protections that allow lobbyists to avoid paying their full share of the tax burden when meeting with members of Congress and their staffs.

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