Three Florida Republican congressmen have thrown their support behind U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie’s, R-Ky, effort to end federal taxation of Social Security benefits.
Massie introduced the “Senior Citizens Tax Elimination Act” last week and Florida Republican U.S. Reps. Matt Gaetz, Greg Steube and Daniel Webster cosponsored the proposal.
Backers of the bill point out that Social Security benefits used to be exempt from federal taxes.
“Until 1984, Social Security benefits were exempt from the federal income tax. In 1983, Congress approved recommendations from the National Commission on Social Security Reform (also known as the Greenspan Commission) to tax Social Security benefits above a specified income threshold,” the Congressional Research Service noted.
Massie insisted that Social Security benefits are currently being taxed twice.
“Although seniors have already paid tax on their Social Security contributions via the payroll tax, they are still required to list these benefits as taxable income on their tax returns,” said Massie who has championed the proposal before. “This is simply a way for Congress to obtain more revenue for the federal government at the expense of seniors who have already paid into Social Security. My bill would exempt Social Security retirement benefits from taxation and boost the retirement income of millions of older Americans.”
“For decades, seniors have paid into Social Security with their tax dollars. Now, when many seniors are on a fixed income and struggling financially, they are being double-taxed because of income taxes on their Social Security benefits,” Webster said. “This is wrong and I’m pleased to once again cosponsor this legislation to repeal this tax.”
Dan Weber, the president and founder of the Association of Mature American Citizens, threw his support behind Massie’s proposal.
“Every year, millions of seniors become eligible for either Social Security or tier I railroad retirement benefits,” Weber said. “After working for decades, being involuntarily taxed on their hard-earned income to fund these federal programs, some seniors are forced to pay income tax on the benefits they withdraw from the federal government. Taxing the very benefits created from taxed earnings is completely nonsensical, and diminishes the retirement benefits seniors have been promised. Seniors deserve to reap the full benefits of their career-long contributions to Social Security and the Railroad Retirement Plan.
"The Senior Citizens Tax Elimination Act will amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to terminate the inclusion of tier I railroad retirement benefits and Social Security benefits in an individual’s gross income. As this legislation takes effect, seniors will notice their tax liability is significantly reduced, and will no longer deal with the ‘double tax’ on their federally earned benefits," Weber added.
The bill was sent to the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee last week but it will have a tough time getting through the Democratic controlled House. So far, there is no companion bill over in the U.S. Senate.
