Republican Nebraska Sen. Pete Ricketts and Democratic Nevada Sen. Jacky Rosen are jumping into Trump’s tax cut agenda, proposing their “Tax Cuts for Veterans Act” that aims to eliminate the federal tax on military retirement benefits.
Ricketts is proposing another bill, the “Social Security Check Tax Cut Act” designed to phase out federal taxes on Social Security benefits. The proposals are the latest of many tax priorities Congress is considering as they look to slash taxes in several different areas in an attempt to align with President Donald Trump’s campaign promises.
“Working together, we’ve hit the ground running. We’ve remained united. We’re working hard to deliver results and keep our promises,” Ricketts wrote Friday in his weekly column.
The veteran’s tax cut proposal is a reintroduction of a tax cut Ricketts has been pushing since 2023. The bill is modeled after Ricketts’ successful endeavor to remove state taxes on military retirement benefits during his time as governor of Nebraska. Veterans savings would vary depending on their earned retirement pay; someone who served for 20 years could see savings over $500 a month and $6000 a year. Rosen joined as a cosponsor in June 2024, giving the bill a bipartisan lift in the Senate.
Ricketts’ social security tax cut plan would begin with a 10% tax cut its first year, increasing to 20% the next. Congress would then phase out the tax by 10% per year, making all social security income tax free by 2033.
Social Security and veterans’ benefits should be completely tax-free. We did this in Nebraska.
I introduced the Social Security Check Tax Cut Act and Tax Cuts for Veterans Act to help make that happen at the federal level.https://t.co/5ETmGqmsGJ
— Senator Pete Ricketts (@SenatorRicketts) March 25, 2025
“Social Security and veterans’ benefits should be completely tax-free,” Ricketts said in a press release. “We need to provide relief at the federal level, just like we did in Nebraska. My bills will boost retirement income and ensure seniors and veterans keep more of their hard-earned money – just as President Trump promised.”
“Veterans sacrificed so much for our nation, and the least we can do is ensure they can retain all of their retirement pay,” Rosen said following her sponsorship of the bill. “I’m proud to join Senator Ricketts in bipartisan legislation to cut taxes for veterans by making military retirement pay tax-free federally. I’ll always work across the aisle to support Nevada’s veterans.” (RELATED: CARTER AND ELLIS: Trump Tax Cuts Can’t Come Soon Enough To Fix Biden’s Economic Mess)
Republican Montana Sen. Steve Daines, supporter of making Trump’s tax cuts permanent, said he is prepared to support Trump’s tax agenda and the proposals introduced to move it forward.
“I’m supportive of many of the ideas that president Trump campaigned on, and now we get to deliver relief for senior citizens and Social Security, taxes, taxing that income, no tax on tips,” Daines told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “So we’re working on all of those provisions right now on the Finance Senate committee and I’m optimistic.”
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