Senators: Protect Mass-Transit Tax Credit

Senators are urging their fellow lawmakers to spare mass-transit commuters from a tax credit cut at the start of 2012.

As it stands, public transit riders can apply $230 of their monthly commuting costs toward a pre-tax benefit. But the mass-transit benefit expires at the end of the year. Come Jan. 1, commuters will only be able to apply $125.

MARC train commuters would be among the mass-transit riders affected if lawmakers do not take action, .

U.S. Senators Ben Cardin (D-Md.) and Barbara A. Mikulski (D-Md.) were among 22 Senators to form a coalition pushing for the extension.  More than 2.5 million commuters use the transit credit, according to a letter the senators sent to Senate Finance Committee Chair Max Baucus (D-Mont.) and ranking member U.S. Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah).

American Public Transportation Association said that a failure to extend the credit would be a de facto tax increase for public transit riders, since the pre-tax benefit for parking did not share the same fate as mass-transit — increasing from $230 to $240.

Baucus reportedly told Politico that his committee was trying to assess whether an extension was “doable.” Hatch, Politico reported, said an extension bill “with our without the transit benefit” would be tough:

“We hope so, but it’s going to be very difficult. There [are] about 40 things, and there’s no way we can do it all,” he said. “But we’re going to try to do some extenders.”