The U.S. House of Representatives passed H. Res. 1156, a resolution introduced by U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly (R-PA), Chairman of the Ways & Means Subcommittee on Tax, on April 16 expressing support for tax policies aimed at helping working families.
The resolution highlights the impact of the Working Families Tax Cuts, which supporters say have provided significant financial relief to Americans this year and aim to make the tax code more beneficial for workers and their families.
“In Western Pennsylvania, when people say they work a ‘half day,’ it’s likely they mean 12 hours, not four. Folks here are like so many of their fellow Americans across the country: they know the value of an honest day’s work for an honest day’s pay,” Kelly said in remarks following passage of his resolution. “The Working Families Tax Cuts reward hard work today while saving you money for tomorrow. Thanks to these incredible new policies, including No Tax on Tips and No Tax on Overtime, this law leverages the tax code to work for Americans, not against them. From employers to employees, from children to seniors, the Working Families Tax Cuts make historic investments in Western Pennsylvania and the United States, both for today and for generations to come.”
According to information released with Kelly’s announcement, this year’s law delivered an estimated $222 billion in refunds nationwide with an average tax cut of $3,750 per taxpayer; households in Pennsylvania received an average cut of $3,500.
New data from April 15 shows that over 25 million taxpayers claimed a new overtime deduction under these cuts and more than six million claimed deductions on tipped income based on U.S Treasury data cited by Kelly’s office. Nearly half of all filers benefited from at least one provision in these reforms; overall more than 53 million filers claimed at least one signature cut included in President Donald Trump’s legislation signed into law July 4 last year.
Additionally, Kelly noted that as a result of these changes “the share of total income taxes paid by Americans whose income is in the top 1% will increase to nearly 40%, while the share paid by Americans in the remaining 99% will decrease to 60%.”
Mike Kelly has served as U.S Representative for Pennsylvania’s 16th District since replacing Kathy Dahlkemper in Congress in 2011 according to Wikipedia. He was born in Pittsburgh in 1948 and currently lives in Butler according to his official biography. He graduated from Notre Dame University with a BA degree in 1970 as reported by Congress.gov.
