Congress Considers Stomping Out Hidden Shoe Tax in New Stimulus Package

Published 14 months ago

For more information on this and other stories, visit www.newsinfusion.com October 23rd, 2008 - As talks begin about another economic stimulus package, legislators agree that effort needs to be made to provide relief to the middle class and... more

For more information on this and other stories, visit www.newsinfusion.com October 23rd, 2008 - As talks begin about another economic stimulus package, legislators agree that effort needs to be made to provide relief to the middle class and encourage consumer confidence. As part of that initiative, a bipartisan group in Congress are seeking to repeal most of the shoe tariff, offering billions of dollars of relief to working families. Their efforts would eliminate this depression-era tax on shoes that drives up prices. Enacted in the 1930s to protect U.S. footwear manufacturers, the shoe tariff, or tax, on imported shoes has outlived its usefulness as 99% of our shoes are made outside of the United States. The tariff serves as a de facto hidden tax on consumers, driving up the import cost for some shoes by as much as 67%. less

Tags: shoe tax economic stimulus package barack obama video congress no tariff repeal the affordable footwear act heritage foundation progressive policy institute