Congressional Record — Senate, December 9, 2020, Page S7291
Summary
Page S7291 of the Senate section of the Congressional Record for December 9, 2020, in interleaved columns. Mr. Thune says Republicans are trying one more time to move a COVID relief bill after the Democratic leadership blocked an earlier bill from even being debated, and that relief must pass before the end of the year, which is his view. Another speaker describes the burden on mobile workers and smaller employers of navigating different State income tax rules and says he has introduced the Mobile Workforce State Income Tax legislation in four Congresses, noting that remote work during the pandemic did not change how income is taxed.
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“Congressional Record — Senate, December 9, 2020, Page S7291.”
Original at www.govinfo.gov. Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/crec-crec-2020-12-09-crec-2020-12-09-pt1-pgs7291-4-2068a904d8/
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December 9, 2020 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S7291
The senior assistant legislative clerk only could we not get a vote on some- Navigating different States’ require-
proceeded to call the roll. thing that represented a good-faith ef- ments can make for a miserable tax
Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I ask fort at addressing the key needs that season for mobile workers, and it can
unanimous consent that the order for are being felt by the American people also be a real burden for their employ-
the quorum call be rescinded. as a result of the pandemic, but we ers. It is particularly challenging for
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without couldn’t even get on the bill to debate smaller businesses, which frequently
objection, it is so ordered. it. lack the in-house tax staff and track-
So we are trying yet one more time, ing capabilities of larger organizations.
f
and I hope this time we will meet with The situation has long cried out for a
RESERVATION OF LEADER TIME success because I do believe that we solution. For the past four Congresses,
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under need to pass COVID relief before the I have introduced legislation, the Mo-
end of the year, and I hope Members of bile Workforce State Income Tax Sim-
the previous order, the leadership time
the Democratic leadership will decide plification Act, to create a uniform
is reserved.
that they are willing to move forward standard for mobile workers. It is a bi-
f to meet our country’s most critical partisan bill, and under that bill if you
CONCLUSION OF MORNING COVID priorities. spend 30 days or fewer working in a dif-
REMOTE AND MOBILE WORKER RELIEF ACT OF ferent State, you would be taxed as
BUSINESS
2020
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Morning normal by your home State. If you
Mr. President, on the subject of spend more than 30 days working in a
business is closed. COVID relief, there is another issue different State, you would be subject to
f that we should address before the end that other State’s income tax in addi-
of the year, and that is tax relief for re- tion to income tax from your home
EXECUTIVE SESSION mote and mobile workers. The com- State.
plicated tax situation facing mobile In June of this year, I introduced an
workers has been an issue for a while updated version of my mobile work-
EXECUTIVE CALENDAR
now, but it has been thrown into espe- force bill: the Remote and Mobile
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under cially sharp relief by the pandemic. Worker Relief Act. Like my original
the previous order, the Senate will pro- As everyone knows, medical profes-
mobile workforce bill, the Remote and
ceed to executive session to resume sionals around the country have trav-
Mobile Worker Relief Act would create
consideration of the following nomina- eled to hard-hit areas this year to help
a uniform 30-day standard governing
tion, which the clerk will report. hospitals deal with the influx of COVID
State income tax liability for mobile
The senior assistant legislative clerk cases. But what many people don’t re-
workers. But my new bill goes further
read the nomination of Allen alize is that these medical profes-
sionals, like other mobile workers, are and addresses some of the particular
Dickerson, of the District of Columbia,
likely to face a complicated tax situa- challenges faced by mobile and remote
to be a Member of the Federal Election
tion this year as a result. For the ma- workers as a result of the coronavirus.
Commission for a term expiring April The Remote and Mobile Worker Re-
30, 2025. jority of Americans, State income tax
lief Act would establish a special 90-
CORONAVIRUS is fairly uncomplicated. Most Ameri-
day standard for healthcare workers
Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I am hop- cans work in the same State in which
who travel to another State to help
ing that we will be able to pass a they reside. So there is no question as
to which State will be taxing their in- during the pandemic. This should en-
COVID relief bill before Christmas. As sure that these workers don’t face an
the leader has said earlier, we don’t come.
For mobile workers, however—like expected tax bill for the contributions
need to resolve all of our differences to that they make to fighting the
traveling nurses or technicians or the
pass a bill. We can pass targeted legis- coronavirus.
medical professionals who responded to
lation that focuses on the priorities My new bill also addresses the pos-
COVID in hard-hit areas—the situation
that we all agree need to be addressed. sible tax complications that could face
is a lot more complicated. Like most
As the leader pointed out earlier this remote workers as a result of the pan-
Americans, their income is subject to
morning on the floor, Republicans here demic. During the coronavirus crisis,
taxation in the State in which their
in the Senate have tried repeatedly, many workers who usually travel to
permanent home is located, but any in-
going back to last summer, to move their offices every day have ended up
come that they earned in a State other
legislation that is targeted, that is fis- working from home. This doesn’t
than their State of residence is also
cally responsible, and that addresses subject to taxation in the State in present a tax problem for most employ-
the key needs that are being experi- which they earned it. ees, but it does present a possible prob-
enced and the challenges that are being Now, individuals can generally re- lem for workers who live in a different
felt by the American people during the ceive a tax credit in their home State State than the one in which they work.
pandemic. for income tax paid to another State, Under current State law, these work-
In fact, as recently as October, we thus avoiding double taxation of their ers usually pay most or all of their
had a majority of U.S. Senators here income. I would add, however, that for State income taxes to the State in
on the floor that attempted to get on a States that don’t have an income tax— which they earn this income rather
bill—a targeted, fiscally responsible and there are many of those across the than their State of residence. However,
bill—that addressed the needs that our country, including my home State of now that some workers who usually
small businesses have, with additional South Dakota—there is no tax credit work in a different State have been
funding for the PPP program; that pro- against income tax paid because there working from home, there is a risk
vided an extension for unemployment is no income tax paid in the home that their State of residence could con-
insurance for people who were unem- State. sider the resulting income as allocated
ployed; that provided funding for vac- But mobile workers’ income tax situ- to and taxable by it as well. That could
cine distribution; that also provided ation is extremely complicated, as mean a higher tax bill for a lot of
funding for frontline workers and, I they generally have to file tax returns workers.
should add, funding for schools and in multiple States, and it is made even My bill would preempt this problem
universities. It was a very targeted, fis- more complicated by the fact that by codifying the prepandemic status
cally responsible bill. It was voted on States have a multitude of different quo. Under my bill, if you planned to
here in the Senate not only once but rules governing just when income work in North Carolina but had to
ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with SENATE
twice. earned in their State starts to be work from home in South Carolina dur-
Both in September and October, we taxed. Some States give up to a 60-day ing the pandemic, your income would
brought a bill to the floor and couldn’t window before income earned by mo- still be taxed as if you were going in to
even get on it because the Democratic bile workers in their State is subject to the office in North Carolina every day,
leadership decided to block that bill. taxation. Other States start taxing mo- just as it would have been if the pan-
So we didn’t even have a debate. Not bile workers immediately. demic had never happened.
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