Letter: Tax bill puts lie to GOP's states' rights rhetoric
(J. Scott Applewhite | The Associated Press) House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady, R-Texas, center, embraces Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, left, as House and Senate conferees after GOP leaders announced they have forged an agreement on a sweeping overhaul of the nation's tax laws, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Dec. 13, 2017. Rep. Richard Neal, D-Mass., ranking member of the House Ways and Means Committee, looks on at far right. Democrats objected to the bill and asked that a final vote be delayed until Senator-elect Doug Jones of Alabama is seated.
Our federal government has never taxed its citizens on the earnings they have already paid to their state governments as taxes. This allows each state to be an independent laboratory of democracy. Each state can decide for itself how much to tax and spend on such things as police, roads, schools and social services.
The Republican Party has long claimed to be a supporter of states’ rights. Why, then, does the proposed tax bill eliminate the deduction for state and local taxes? How can a party that supports states’ rights justify taxing citizens on earnings they have paid to their state governments?
Linda F. Smith, Salt Lake City
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