H-3388.1  _______________________________________________

                     HOUSE JOINT MEMORIAL 4019

          _______________________________________________

State of Washington      57th Legislature     2002 Regular Session

By Representatives Simpson, Benson, Jarrett, Cooper, Sullivan, Conway, Dunshee, Hunt, Eickmeyer, Quall, Fromhold, Ogden, Cairnes, Holmquist, Morell, Mulliken, Hurst, Santos, Hatfield, Lysen, Kessler, Lovick, Chase, Ruderman, Wood, Esser, Schual‑Berke, Jackley, Veloria, Darneille, McDermott and McIntire

Read first time 01/17/2002.  Referred to Committee on Commerce & Labor.

Requesting Congress to remove unemployment insurance benefits from federal taxation.

    TO THE HONORABLE GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, AND TO THE PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE AND THE SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, AND TO THE SENATE AND HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE UNITED STATES, IN CONGRESS ASSEMBLED:

    We, your Memorialists, the Senate and House of Representatives of the State of Washington, in legislative session assembled, respectfully represent and petition as follows:

    WHEREAS, The Federal Internal Revenue Code currently requires individuals to pay income taxes on unemployment benefit payments that they have received; and

    WHEREAS, The taxation of unemployment insurance benefits impacts over four million persons annually and reduces their income on average by seventeen percent for total federal revenues of less than three billion dollars; and

    WHEREAS, This taxation of unemployment benefits is an onerous burden on individuals that are generally experiencing a dramatic reduction in income due to their loss of employment; and

    WHEREAS, The taxation of unemployment benefits undermines the purpose of unemployment insurance, by dramatically reducing the amount of money available to workers and their families that are experiencing a loss of wages due to no fault of their own.  In addition, local economies are adversely impacted due to the loss of income in the community; and

    WHEREAS, Both the Advisory Council on Unemployment Compensation and the National Commission on Unemployment Compensation have advised Congress to repeal the federal income taxation of state unemployment insurance benefits;

    NOW, THEREFORE, Your Memorialists respectively request that the Congress of the United States enact legislation removing unemployment insurance benefits from taxation under the Internal Revenue Code.

    BE IT RESOLVED, That copies of this Memorial be immediately transmitted to the Honorable George W. Bush, President of the United States, the President of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and each member of Congress from the State of Washington.

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