Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Architects Meet with Hutchison

On Aug. 8, about 20 people, including 16 affiliated with the Texas Society of Architects/AIA, gathered at the home of TSA Public Member Director Gail Thomas (and her husband, Bob) for an intimate visit with U.S. Senator and 2010 Texas gubernatorial candidate Kay Bailey Hutchison.

Senator Hutchison has been a special friend to architects for years, most recently in 2004 when she was the first to sponsor an amendment to the federal JOBS bill to protect a tax credit for design firms. By the time the JOBS bill was passed and signed into law by President George W. Bush, over half of her Senate colleagues had joined her as co-sponsors of her proposed change.

In discussing items of importance to Texas architects and TSA, Senator Hutchison noted measures of general benefit to the state, such as initiating (along with Congressman Kevin Brady, R-TX) a change in tax law that allows citizens that do not pay a state income tax to deduct other state taxes (i.e., state sales taxes, etc.) when figuring their federal income taxes. More details about this event will be published in the October issue of TSA’s CheckSet newsletter.

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