Press Releases

Washington, DC -Today, Congressman Jeff Van Drew (R-NJ), along with Congressman Josh Riley (D-NY), introduced H.R. 8350, the No Taxes on Utility Bills Act, which would let taxpayers deduct all taxes and state-mandated surcharges included on their gas and electric bills from their federal taxable income, giving New Jersey families a much-needed tax break.

"People are fed up with opening their utility bills and seeing line after line of extra charges that keep pushing the cost higher," said Congressman Van Drew. "They are paying more and more every month, and a big part of that is taxes and state-mandated charges that have nothing to do with how much energy they use. This bill would let taxpayers write off those extra charges to effectively lower their taxable income and keep more of their hard-earned dollars. While this is a state issue, both in terms of what is driving these high bills and what needs to be done to bring them down, I am going to keep doing everything I can at the federal level to help lower these costs. This bill is a simple, common-sense way to give these families some relief."

This bill builds on Congressman Van Drew and Congressman Riley's No Bonuses for Utility Executives Act, which focuses on eliminating utility executives' bonuses when rates increase.

"The people of New Jersey are struggling to keep up, and then they see executives getting bonuses while their bills go up," Congressman Van Drew continued. "That is backwards. If you are raising rates faster than inflation, you should not be receiving bonuses. Maybe then they will reconsider their insane rate increases."

Click here to read the text of H.R. 8350, the No Taxes on Utility Bills Act.

Click here to read the text of H.R. 6590, the No Bonuses for Utility Executives Act.