Introduction of the Transit Tax Parity Act of 2015
Floor Speech
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Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, today, I introduce the Transit Tax Parity
Act of 2015. The bill would expand federal commuter tax benefits for
transit and make them equal to those for parking. Currently, the
transit benefit is half the level of the parking benefit. This bill
would permanently raise the transit benefit to equal the parking
benefit for commuters, in an effort to equalize the commuter options
and to reduce congestion and pollution.
This bill would encourage commuters to use transit by equalizing tax
benefits for mass transit and parking benefits at a time when transit
systems have precipitously lost riders because of the inequality in
benefits. Congress did the sensible thing when it increased the
commuter benefit cap to be the same as parking in previous years, but
when that parity ended, transit benefits decreased to $130, just over
half the benefits for driving. The decrease in transit benefits has led
to a striking reduction in transit system ridership across the country.
For example, the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority
(WMATA), the second largest transit system in the nation, runs
throughout the national capital region and has seen a 25 percent
decrease in Metrorail commuters, with riders switching to alternative
means of commuting once they reach the $130 limit. Congressional action is urgently needed to make federal tax benefits for transit and parking equal at $250.
Millions of people commute in and out of cities every day, bolstering
the American economy and improving the overall well-being of the
country. Why would we want to encourage people to drive rather than use
mass transit? At the very least, there is no excuse for preferential
treatment of driving. There are also environmental benefits that result
from encouraging commuters to use mass transit and commuter rail
instead of driving. Greater use of transit is consistent with the goals
of reducing pollution from auto emissions, improving public health and
reducing traffic congestion, which adds huge costs to the American
economy and disrupts family life.
I strongly urge my colleagues to support the legislation.
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