ICYMI: Davids Leads New Push to Help Small Businesses with Rising Gas Prices

Statement

This week, Representative Sharice Davids led her colleagues to call on the IRS to increase a tax deduction used by small business owners and the self-employed. Along with Representative Ruben Gallego (AZ-07), she urged the IRS Commissioner to increase the standard mileage deduction rate and give small business owners a break from rising gas prices.

Read more on Davids' latest push to help small business owners deal with rising costs:

KMBC: Rep. Davids launches plan to help small businesses keep up with gas prices

Rep. Davids on KMBC

Washington Post: Democrats Urge IRS to Boost Drivers' 58.5-Cent Mileage Deduction

"House Democrats are pushing the Internal Revenue Service to increase a tax break that would help truckers, Uber Technologies Inc. and Lyft Inc. drivers and other transportation-related businesses cut their tax bills as they struggle with soaring gasoline prices.

Businesses, gig workers and other proprietors are currently able to deduct 58.5 cents per mile as a business cost for federal taxes. Representatives Ruben Gallego of Arizona and Sharice Davids of Kansas, along with other Democrats asked IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig to temporarily boost that amount, according to a letter obtained by Bloomberg News.

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"This is a common-sense step that the IRS has taken before during extraordinary times to lower the costs for those business owners, and I think it's pretty clear that we are in extraordinary times," Davids said in a statement."

"Kansans are getting squeezed by rising gas prices--that includes small business owners. This is another commonsense step we can take to keep money in people's pockets amid extraordinary circumstances," said Davids. "We're still working to fight long-term inflation and find energy solutions, but the fact is, Kansans need relief from rising prices right now."

(originally in Bloomberg)

Davids has been focused on lowering costs for Kansans, including gas prices. She has repeatedly urged the President and Congressional leadership to move forward on long-term energy and inflation solutions, including fixing our supply chains, making more goods in America, and investing in our clean energy economy.

She urged her colleagues to investigate potential price gouging by oil and gas companies, who have made record profits despite rising gas prices, and today voted to pass legislation to further crack down on excessive profit-seeking by oil and gas companies.
She introduced legislation to suspend the federal gas tax through the end of the year, saving Kansans 18 cents per gallon at a time when gas prices are reaching new highs.
After voting for bipartisan sanctions against Russian oil, she called on President Biden to take immediate action to protect American consumers from uncertainty and rising prices during these extraordinary circumstances, including by temporarily suspending the federal gas tax.
Following Davids' calls to take action on rising gas prices last fall, President Biden released 50 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. He has since authorized the largest release in history, providing a bridge to increased supply.
Davids remains committed to long-term energy and inflation solutions, urging the President to protect Kansans from being used for leverage by dictators in the future by investing in renewable and alternative fuels--a position shared by former Navy Secretary Ray Mabus.
She met with the President and New Democrat Coalition leaders in March to continue pushing for bipartisan legislation to fix our supply chains and make more goods in America, not China.

For more information on Davids' work to lower costs and reduce inflation, and for resources to find lower prices on gas, groceries, housing and more, visit davids.house.gov/lowercosts.

Source