WASHINGTON D.C. -This week, U.S. Representative Cynthia Lummis supported and voted for a host of bills that reform the tax code and restrict the IRS. Two of the more important bills, which Rep. Lummis also cosponsored, are H.R. 622 – State and Local Sales Tax Deduction Fairness Act of 2015 and H.R. 1105 – Death Tax Repeal Act of 2015.

The first of these, H.R. 622, would make the state and local sales tax deduction permanent to keep the field level for states like Wyoming that use a state sales tax instead of a state income tax.  The second bill repeals the death tax to protect family businesses and farms as they are passed from generation to generation.

“Oppressive tax rates burdening hardworking Americans are painful enough, but pile on the maze of red tape and IRS abuse and filing taxes is simply excruciating,” said Rep. Lummis.  “To relieve families and small businesses in our struggling economy we passed legislation to curtail IRS abuse, repeal the devastating death tax, and make deductions for state and local sales taxes permanent.  Our obsolete tax code forces the majority of American to seek professional tax help and software to navigate the mess of forms.  We need to simplify the tax code and relieve the tax burdens on American families wherever we can to grow jobs and our economy.”

Additional legislation this week:

• Clarifies that a duty of the Commissioner of Internal Revenue is to ensure that IRS employees are familiar with and act in accord with certain taxpayer rights.
• Prohibits IRS officers and employees from using personal email accounts to conduct official business.
• Permits the release of information regarding the status of certain investigations.
• Provides for a right to an administrative appeal of tax-exempt status for certain organizations.