Washington, D.C. - A joint Senate-House conference committee is considering legislation that includes a provision which would allow residents of Wyoming and six other states with no income tax to deduct the amount they pay in state sales tax from their federal income tax bill.

U.S. Senator Mike Enzi, R-Wyo. and a bipartisan group of Senate and House members gathered today to urge the JOBS Act conference committee members to retain the provision which was passed by the House. The following are comments from Enzi.

"We're talking about an issue of fairness. Allowing taxpayers in our states to deduct sales tax from their federal income tax bill will make the federal tax burden more equitable.

"I congratulate Representative Barbara Cubin for her continued efforts on this important issue and her success in attaching the provision to the House Jobs bill. Taxpayers in Wyoming and other non-income tax states - about 55 million working parents, small business owners, farmers, ranchers and others - will benefit greatly from this provision. In Wyoming alone, taxpayers will save about $28 million. That's money they can spend on health insurance, school supplies, farm equipment, business development, etc. Barbara should be commended for her leadership and dedication to this important issue.

"We need to do all we can to keep the provision in the Conference Report. It's important to me and the working families in my state.

"Taxpayers in Wyoming and other affected states should not be punished for choosing to live where local leaders have chosen not to impose heavy state tax burdens.

"We're not debating state tax policy today. Leave that to our state legislatures. This is a question of fairness at the federal level. We're talking about how much our working families should be forced to pay to the federal government to support the federal bureaucracy.

"The President has recently called for tax reform that will make the tax code more fair. This provision is a step in the right direction. I hope my colleagues in the House and Senate will join us in supporting this provision in the final Conference Report of the Jobs bill."

Enzi and Cubin wrote a letter in August to the conference committee chairmen and ranking members urging them to keep the sales tax deduction in the final bill.

Once the committee finishes with its conference report both the Senate and the House must pass the report and the President must sign the legislation in order for it to become law.