House Dems to push for transit tax break revival

A pair of House Democrats is planning to push lawmakers on Wednesday to revive a tax break for commuters who take public transportation to work that was cut at the beginning of this year. 

The amount of their monthly incomes that transit riders are allowed to set aside before taxes for their commutes to work was reduced from $240 to $130 in January, over the objection of public transit advocates who argued that a similar tax break for drivers who park in garages was left unchanged.  

Reps. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.) and James McGovern (D-Mass.) will hold a rally with Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) Board Chairman Tom Downs on Wednesday calling for the commuter tax break to be restored to pre-2014 levels, the transit agency announced on Monday. 

{mosads}The transit tax break was originally increased to $240 in the 2009 economic stimulus package. The benefit was reduced when the stimulus ended in 2011, but it was later restored in the 2012 bill to push back the implementation of sequestration until early 2013.

The extension was only for one year, however, so the benefit returned to $130 again on Jan. 1.