Category: Washington DC News

Defending Religious Freedom
By Senator John Thune

I always look forward to Sunday mornings. Faith, family, and community take the focus as thousands of families across South Dakota and throughout our country gather with the freedom to worship under the religion of their choice without fear of persecution. The American values of religious freedom and liberty are woven into the very fabric of who we are as a country and a distinct part of what makes America great.

In the U.S., we view it as incumbent upon us to question the decisions of government and businesses that may infringe upon an individual’s religious freedoms. In 2014, the U.S. Supreme Court considered the conscience rights of individuals in the case Burwell v. Hobby Lobby. Under our system of checks and balances, the Supreme Court found that ObamaCare was constitutionally overreaching into Americans’ lives and forcing many to violate their conscience. It was a victory for religious freedom.

With these most basic religious freedoms, comes the responsibility to protect and preserve these liberties not only for Americans, but also for the millions across the globe who are imprisoned, persecuted, and even killed because of their faith. Which is why, on February 5, 2015, I joined my colleagues in introducing a resolution defending religious freedom and calling for the protection of religious minorities worldwide.

Religious freedom forged by our founding fathers sought to protect an individual’s rights of conscience, even if their particular theological convictions differed from the majority. This was especially important to the protestant and later Catholic Christians escaping persecution in Europe who went on to form many of the denominations with which we are familiar in South Dakota.

These same principles are equally important to the Christian and Rohingya Muslim minorities in Burma who face persecution from a Buddhist majority, as well as the ancient Christian and Yezidi communities of Iraq, fleeing almost certain death at the hands of ISIS. The constant struggle can also be seen in individual cases, such as that of Saeed Abedini, a Christian pastor with duel Iranian and American citizenship arrested and imprisoned in Iran based solely on his Christian faith.

It was Ronald Reagan who famously said, “…We must remember the most distinctive mark of all in the American experience: To a tired and disillusioned world, we’ve always been a New World and, yes, a shining city on a hill where all things are possible.” It is our responsibility to not only provide an example of religious freedom in our own lives, communities, and government, but to also speak out for those around the world who want nothing more than the right to worship according to their conscience without fear of persecution.

This is what we are called to as a nation, and as a people who believe in defending the intrinsic value of human life. I will continue to fight for these essential and most basic values as a member of the U.S. Senate, and I hope South Dakotans will join me in lifting their voices in support of religious freedom around the globe.
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Thune Questions Lew on Yet Another Obama Death Tax Proposal that Could Devastate South Dakota Family Farms

“…most farms…would not have the liquid assets to deal with that large of a tax bill, meaning the only way they would be able to pay Uncle Sam would be to break up the family farm and sell off portions of it…”

WASHINGTON, D.C.—U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) today at a hearing before the Senate Finance Committee questioned U.S. Department of Treasury Secretary Jack Lew about the Obama administration’s proposal to institute a second death tax on South Dakota family farms and businesses. Thune offered an example of how the administration’s capital gains proposal will negatively impact family farms in South Dakota and called on the secretary to explain the intent behind their capital gains proposal.

Impact on South Dakota Farmers and Ranchers:

“[The administration’s] proposal, if enacted, would have a devastating impact on family farms and small businesses in my state of South Dakota. I want to give you an example… if you take a typical family farm that bought…640 acres back in 2000 for $640,000, which…in South Dakota that would be considered a small farm. Today that same farmland is probably worth somewhere between $3.5 million and $4.5 million, depending on where it’s located.

“So under the current estate tax law, which excludes assets up to $5.43 million, the family farm isn’t taxed when it passes from one generation to the next. Now under the administration’s proposal, this family farm would be hit with a significant tax when the family farm is transferred to the next generation of family members. …so in that example this South Dakota family would suddenly find themselves facing a tax bill of $1 million or more.”

Administration’s Intent Behind Capital Gains Proposal:

“…most farms of this size would not have the liquid assets to deal with that large of a tax bill, meaning the only way they would be able to pay Uncle Sam would be to break up the family farm and sell off portions of it…What is the administration’s intent with regard to this tax? If it is to break up family farms, obviously it is going to have that effect, or is it simply an unintended consequence of your interest in imposing yet another layer of taxation at death?”

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Thune, Brown Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Simplify Income Tax Collection for Individuals Working in Multiple States

-Bill would ease reporting burdens for employees and employers-

WASHINGTON, D.C. –U.S. Sens. John Thune (R-S.D.) and Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), members of the tax-writing Senate Finance Committee, today introduced the Mobile Workforce State Income Tax Simplification Act, legislation that would simplify and standardize state income tax collection for employees who travel outside of their home state for temporary work assignments. The bill would also help employers who must file withholdings and reporting requirements. Currently, individuals and employers face up to 41 different state income tax reporting requirements that vary based on length of stay, income earned, or both.

“Our increasingly mobile workforce has created opportunities for businesses to grow and expand throughout the nation, but complex state tax reporting requirements place costly and time-consuming burdens on businesses with employees that work in multiple states,” said Thune. “Our legislation would establish a clear 30-day threshold test for state income tax purposes, preventing individuals from having to sort through complicated tax reporting burdens from the multiple states where they travel for work. This legislation will greatly simplify state income tax filings, is fairer to those residents in states without an income tax, and should help to encourage tax compliance.”

“This common-sense legislation will help simplify and standardize tax filing for employees and employers that conduct business in multiple states,” Brown said. “This is a great example of government working to reduce burdensome and confusing barriers to help ease the cost of doing business for employers and their workers.”

“Retailers welcome the introduction of this bill,” said National Retail Federation Vice President and Tax Counsel Rachelle Bernstein. “The current morass of state laws dealing with state income tax burdens for workers on business travel outside their home states creates confusion and undue compliance burdens for both employees and employers. This burden can be particularly onerous for the retail industry. Buyers for both large and small retailers frequently travel out of state to visit vendors or attend trade or fashion shows. Federal law to provide uniform rules for when these employees must file income tax returns in another state would greatly simplify this burden.”

“The current system is especially harmful to residents of states like South Dakota with no personal income tax, as these workers are forced to pay an out-of-pocket tax with no ability to obtain a home state credit or offset,” said Laura Coome, Executive Director of the South Dakota CPA Society. “This legislation would enhance compliance with state personal income tax laws and greatly simplify the onerous burdens placed on employees who travel outside of their resident states for temporary periods and on employers who have corresponding withholding and reporting requirements.”

“CPAs are extremely grateful to Senator Brown and Senator Thune for introducing Mobile Workforce legislation again in this Congress,” said Scott D. Wiley, CAE, president and CEO, The Ohio Society of CPAs. “It provides much-needed relief to businesses across the United States from the current web of inconsistent state income tax and withholding rules weighing down our nation’s employers and employees. This bill is an important step forward and extends the benefits businesses will see through a similar municipal income tax reform legislation passed in Ohio.”

While some states require state income tax filing for as little as one day of work in the state, the Mobile Workforce State Income Tax Simplification Act would establish a common-sense, 30-day threshold to help ensure that an equitable tax is paid to the state and local jurisdiction where the work is being performed while alleviating employees and employers from burdensome tax requirements.

The Mobile Workforce State Income Tax Simplification Act is supported by over 250 organizations and business groups.

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The ObamaCare Taxman Cometh
By Senator John Thune

The Beatles aptly sang in their song “Taxman”: “If you get too cold, I’ll tax the heat / If you take a walk, I’ll tax your feet.” Had ObamaCare been the law of the land at the time, they perhaps would have added, “If you need a pill, I’ll tax the bill; if you need a doc, my tax will shock,” to represent the pain of the tax penalties that will be hitting South Dakotans and millions of Americans across the country this tax season.

ObamaCare was supposed to solve our nation’s health care problems. It was supposed to drive down premiums and make health care more affordable. Instead, it’s generally done the opposite. Since ObamaCare became law in 2010, health care premiums have risen. Millions of Americans have lost their health insurance plans. Others have lost access to their doctors. Still others are stuck in new insurance plans paying more for less coverage.

The American Action Forum recently ran the numbers and estimated that 6,000 South Dakotans will have to pay the ObamaCare tax penalty for not having government-approved health insurance. According to a calculator on the Wall Street Journal’s website, the average individual who must pay the ObamaCare tax for not having government-approved insurance in South Dakota will pay a $394 penalty this year, while the average family of four in South Dakota will pay a $650 penalty. That’s a lot of money for a South Dakota family. And it’s only going to go up, because the tax penalty will rise in 2016.

South Dakotans could be spending that tax money on a number of essential items if they didn’t have to pay the penalty. An individual could purchase 201 gallons of gas or six weeks of groceries with the money he will use to pay the tax penalty. A family of four could buy three weeks of groceries, or cover almost two months’ worth of car payments, or purchase 332 gallons of gas at South Dakota prices. That would cover a lot of trips to school and football practice and dance practice.

The last few years have involved government creating many burdens on American workers and the American economy to fund big-government programs and the president’s pet projects. Take the ObamaCare tax on lifesaving medical devices like pacemakers and insulin pumps. This tax was put in place to help pay for the president’s health care law, but it has ended up negatively affecting jobs in this industry.

ObamaCare has demonstrated big government is not the answer. Instead of pushing big-government solutions, we need to rebuild our economy from the bottom up. I will continue working with my colleagues in the Senate to repeal and replace the most onerous parts of ObamaCare with policies that lower health care costs for South Dakota families.

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Following Senate Passage of Keystone XL, All Eyes on the President

“This is the kind of common-sense legislating the American people hired America’s New Congress to do.”

WASHINGTON, D.C.—U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) issued the following statement on the Senate’s bipartisan passage of a bill that would approve the job-creating Keystone XL pipeline:

“Keystone XL would support thousands of jobs and invest billions of dollars in the economy at no expense to taxpayers. This is the kind of common-sense legislating the American people hired America’s New Congress to do. The president is out of excuses. He should support this project and join Republicans in getting Washington working again for the American people.”

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