Early tax payment not entirely 'welcome'

Peter Roskam states in his latest newsletter: "While the House stood in recess last week, thousands of Sixth District residents who stood in line to prepay property taxes last December received the welcome news that they will be able to deduct their 2017 prepaid property taxes."

I was one of those people. Feeling "welcome" to pay my taxes a year early is not how I would describe this activity. Angry, perhaps, but not "welcome." George Orwell must be LOL.

In any case, I would have been able to deduct my taxes before Roskam's "Jobs and Tax" giveaway bill that presented the 1 percent and corporations a huge tax cut and capped my deductions at $10,000. Yes, I would have had to wait until next year to do that. But although I'm glad that I can claim this tax deduction this year, I find this not really "welcome news."

I can claim this deduction this year but not in 2019, the next time my bill comes due. I should be happy because of this? Why? How out of touch with his constituents is this man? Why should I have to worry about this at all?

I must worry because Peter Roskam is one of the legislators who capped my deductions with the "Jobs and Tax" bill. Of course, in 2019 when I am capped at $10,000 (as I expect many of the taxpayers in the Sixth District will discover), I do not believe that I will feel "welcome" unless he has come up with a new Orwellian definition for the word.

The welcome I might feel will be next November when the voters of this district decide to permanently send this man to retirement and vote in Sean Casten to replace him. Then I will feel welcome.

Kevin Brewner

St. Charles