Despite two transit parity bills introduced so far this year on Capitol Hill, Congress so far has made no indication it will extend the mostly non-controversial proposal to equalize the tax breaks for qualified parking and mass transportation and vanpool commuting expenses.
Both bills were introduced in the House and seek to amend the tax code to set each of the qualified transportation fringe components equal to each other and allow for inflation adjustments in later years. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, D-D.C., introduced the Transit Parity Act of 2015 on Feb. 24 after making a public announcement Feb. 10. The bill, H.R. 1046, so far has received no hearing.
On Feb. 15, Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., along with several other lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, introduced the Commuter Benefits Parity Act of 2015. The legislation, H.R. 990, also has received no hearing.
“Commuters who drive to work receive more favorable tax treatment of their transportation costs than commuters who rely on public transportation,” he said in a press release. “The Commuter Benefit Parity Act ensures that commuters receive the same level of tax relief regardless of whether they drive or use public transportation, like the Long Island Railroad. At no cost to the federal government, this legislation is a common-sense solution to ensuring that public transportation is a cost-effective choice.”
The parity between the two QTFB components has been extended several times since 2010, but only temporarily. The last extension expired Jan. 1, 2015.