On Thursday, U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) introduced two bills to make the tax code “fairer” for workers by easing their tax burden and cracking down on corporate anti-union practices. Senator Casey’s Tax Fairness for Workers Act would allow workers to deduct common employment expenses such as travel and uniform costs, restoring a deduction stripped by the 2017 Trump tax law. Workers will be able to deduct business expenses, just as employers can. The bill would also allow workers to deduct their union dues.
The No Tax Breaks for Union Busting Act would end taxpayer subsidization of anti-union activities by preventing corporations from deducting their union-busting expenses from their taxes. Casey states that too often, workers’ attempts to organize for better pay and conditions are opposed by million-dollar, taxpayer-funded anti-union campaigns, and employers that spend at least $340 million per year hiring anti-union firms. Even after courts rule that they illegally violated their workers’ rights, the current tax code rewards corporations with tax write-offs.
“For too long, the deck in Washington has been stacked against workers. My bills will use the tax code to help level the playing field for workers and empower them to exercise their right to organize,” said Senator Casey. “There are commonsense steps to restore fairness to our Nation’s tax code and stop rewarding corporations’ bad behavior when taking advantage of hardworking Americans and their families.”
“It is no secret that wealthy corporations have used every trick in the book to put their profits over their workers,” said AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler. “Now is the time to fix this broken system by putting working people first. It’s simple – companies shouldn’t be rewarded for union-busting. And our tax code should grant relief to working people - who actually need it – by allowing them to deduct union dues and work-related expenses. By passing the Tax Fairness for Workers Act and No Tax Breaks for Union Busting Act, Congress would take a huge step forward to a fairer, more just tax code.”
“Our nation’s tax code is currently skewed against working Americans in favor of greedy corporations,” said United Steel Workers President Tom Conway. “Fortunately, Sen. Casey is working hard to restore balance by introducing the Tax Fairness for Workers and No Tax Breaks for Union Busting Acts. These bills would allow workers to once again deduct union dues and other work-related expenses, as well as clamp down on corporations looking to write off expenses they incurred attempting to keep their workers from organizing. Together, these bills not only make our tax system fairer but provide needed support for working families.”
Earlier this year, Senator Casey introduced the Stop Spying Bosses Act to hold companies accountable for using surveillance technologies against their employees, including for surveillance and monitoring that targets organizing activity.
Cosponsors of the Tax Fairness for Workers Act include Casey, Schumer, Murray, Brown, Sanders, Baldwin, Bennet, Blumenthal, Cantwell, Cardin, Cortez Masto, Duckworth, Durbin, Feinstein, Fetterman, Gillibrand, Hassan, Heinrich, Hirono, Kelly, King, Klobuchar, Lujan, Markey, Menendez, Merkley, Murphy, Padilla, Reed, Rosen, Schatz, Shaheen, Smith, Stabenow, Van Hollen, Warnock, Warren, Welch, Whitehouse, and Wyden.
Cosponsors of the No Tax Breaks for Union Busting Act include Casey, Murray, Wyden, Van Hollen, Booker, Schatz, Smith, Reed, Murphy, Welch, Durbin, Markey, Warren, Baldwin, Lujan, Klobuchar, Merkley, Sanders, Whitehouse, Cardin, Blumenthal, Stabenow, Padilla, Menendez, Hirono, Fetterman, and Brown.
Read more about the Tax Fairness for Workers Act here.
Read more about the No Tax Breaks for Union Busting Act here.
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