As I have previously pointed out (here and here and here), the 2017 tax law took a wrong turn by denying most employees a deduction for their work-related expenses. The House Ways and Means Committee is now poised to vote on a proposal that would reinstate tax relief for one type of work-related expense — union dues. A better course would be to provide broad tax relief for all types of work-related expenses.

A fundamental tax policy principle requires that taxpayers be allowed to deduct the costs of earning the income on which they are taxed. A taxpayer who must incur $1,000 of expenses to earn $30,000 should pay the same tax as one who earns $29,000 without incurring any expenses, because both taxpayers have the same $29,000 net amount available for personal spending.