No More Tax Deductions

Federal employees who use mass-transit to get to work will have to dig a little deeper. The Transportation Bill Congress passed last week does not extend a tax deduction for users of public transportation. The deduction was worth $230 a month until the end of last year. It then dropped to $125 a month. The new bill, which the president is expected to sign this week, keeps the lower subsidy level. But a spokesman for the House Ways and Means Committee said it was possible Congress would reconsider raising it. One union estimated tens of thousands of federal workers are affected by the lower subsidy.