WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the Ways and Means Committee advanced five tax bills, each of which provides real relief for Americans facing challenges. The Committee voted to repeal a Biden-Harris Administration policy that gives the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) more power to snoop around minor financial transactions by Americans – like buying a couch or selling concert tickets – using payment apps like Venmo and PayPal. Additional legislation approved by the Committee prohibits tax-exempt organizations from maintaining their tax-exempt status if they materially support terrorism and eliminates penalties on past-due taxes owed by Americans held hostage or wrongfully detained. The Ways and Means Committee also voted to remove taxes on less-than-lethal devices like tasers that are currently subject to outdated regulations and voted on bills that would provide tax credits to help end the skilled labor shortage and expand educational scholarships for low-income families and students.

In his opening statement, Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith (MO-08) highlighted how this markup continues the Ways and Means Committee’s record this Congress of supporting working families: 

“Under the Republican majority in the House, the Ways and Means Committee has delivered wins for working families. This Committee voted to enhance the pro-work Child Tax Credit and restore pro-growth, pro-jobs tax policies in the Trump tax cuts. We have and continue to hold universities accountable for failing to protect Jewish students. We strengthened trade programs for American farmers, producers, and workers. Even now, Republican Tax Teams are hard at work to build on the successful Trump tax cuts and block the looming $7 trillion Harris tax hike. 

“Today, this Committee is taking action to further help working families. By stopping an intrusive IRS, keeping our communities safe, and providing relief for Americans held hostage and their families, the legislation before us today will help Americans tackle serious challenges.”

Stop Terror-Financing and Tax Penalties on American Hostages Act (H.R. 9495)
The bill provides fair tax treatment to Americans held hostage or wrongfully detained abroad by preventing penalties paid on past-due taxes, prohibiting the IRS from issuing new penalties, postponing tax deadlines, and terminating the tax-exempt status of organizations found to be materially supporting designated terrorist groups, such as Hamas. 

• On October 7th, Hamas took hundreds of individuals hostage, including Americans. Nearly one year later, there are Americans still being held hostage by Hamas in Gaza.
• This issue, however, is not limited to the hostages being held by Hamas. According to the James W. Foley Foundation, 46 Americans have been held hostage in 16 countries in 2024 alone. 
• The bill postpones tax deadlines for Americans held hostage.
• Since the October 7th attack on Israel, the Ways and Means Committee has held multiple hearings which uncovered how some tax-exempt organizations have abused America’s tax code to fund disruptive and illegal activity nationally and terrorism abroad. 
• Taxpayers should not be required to fund such activity through the tax code. 
• The bill requires the Treasury Department to strip organizations found to have provided material support to a listed terrorist organization of their tax-exempt status. 

Read the one pager here.

The bill passed the Committee 38-0.

Law Enforcement Innovate to De-Escalate Act (H.R. 3269)
The bill ensures less-than-lethal devices like tasers are not subject to the Firearms and Ammunition Excise Tax. 

• Certain devices like tasers are currently defined under federal regulation as “firearms” and are subject to federal taxes under the Firearm and Ammunition Excise Tax (FAET). 
• Due to outdated and misaligned regulations, innovative devices, including tasers, are subject to a tax that was never intended to apply to them. 
• Innovative technology is key to protecting communities. 
• The bill ensures critical and innovative devices are not subject to the Firearms and Ammunition Excise Tax. 
• The bill encourages innovation in community safety devices and demands the Treasury Department ensure the tax code remains up to date with future innovations.
• The definition of less-than-lethal devices is also clarified to distinguish such devices from firearms to prevent future misguided taxation. 

Read the one pager here.

The bill passed the Committee 21-15.

Saving Gig Economy Taxpayers Act (H.R. 190)
The bill repeals the Biden-Harris policy requiring the IRS to send 1099-K tax forms to Americans for using third-party cash transfer apps like Venmo and PayPal.

• Democrats’ so-called American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) reduced the 1099-K reporting thresholds from $20,000 in earnings and 200 individual transactions to only $600, increasing taxes and paperwork burdens on workers, especially those in the gig economy.
• According to the Joint Committee on Taxation, 90 percent of the tax burden would fall on filers who make less than $200,000. 
• The IRS has taken the law into its own hands and twice unilaterally delayed the policy’s implementation. 
• These delays allowed the Biden-Harris Administration to avoid sending 44 million new tax forms to Americans in an election year. 
• The bill repeals ARPA’s 1099-K policy that gave the IRS authority to target working Americans, gig workers, and those who use Venmo or PayPal to sell items like a used couch, guitar, or concert tickets.

Read the one pager here.

The bill passed the Committee 22-16.

USA Workforce Investment Act (H.R. 9461)
The bill helps tackle the skilled labor shortage by providing new incentives for contributions made to a certified workforce training program. 

• 40 percent of business leaders say college graduates are unprepared to enter the workforce and only 11 percent of postsecondary students feel very prepared to enter the workforce. 
• The U.S. has 7.7 million job openings, yet 1.5 million Americans are long-term unemployed. 
• More jobs across industry sectors require postsecondary credential or technical training.
• The best way to connect Americans to good-paying skilled labor is to expand available training options and career pathways. 
• The bill provides individual taxpayers incentives for contributions to workforce development and training organizations. 
• Eligible organizations must provide services defined in the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act – including occupational skills training, on-the-job training, skills upgrading and retraining, entrepreneurial training, and adult education and literacy activities. 
• This legislation builds on action taken in July, when the Ways and Means Committee marked up legislation that expanded 529 accounts to help parents save for their child’s education and strengthen workforce opportunities for students wishing to learn a skill or trade.

Read the one pager here.

The bill passed the Committee 22-15.

Educational Choice for Children Act of 2024 (H.R. 9462)
The bill provides a tax incentive to establish new scholarships for K-12 education that support low-income students.

• The COVID-19 pandemic exposed major problems in the educational system as liberal elites shut down schools, masked students, and forced inappropriate material into the classroom. 
• As a result, parents demanded more educational freedom to protect their children academically, mentally, and emotionally. 
• Over 365,000 students nationwide with an average income of under $75,000 have received scholarships under similar state-run tax programs. For example, 68 percent of program recipients in Florida are African American or Hispanic with an average income of $24,000.
• The bill provides incentives to individual taxpayers for contributions made to scholarship granting organizations.
• Scholarships awarded under this bill must go to students in households with incomes at or below 300 percent of the median income level in their area, providing low-income families with the choice and freedom to ensure that their children are successful.

Read the one pager here.

The bill passed the Committee 23-16.