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House Taxwriter Walorski Dies in Car Accident

Rep. Jackie Walorski, R-Ind., a member of the House Ways and Means Committee since 2017, was killed in a car accident August 3. She was 58.

 

Walorski was ranking member of the Ways and Means Worker and Family Support Subcommittee and a member of the Oversight Subcommittee. She also was ranking member of the House Ethics Committee.

 

Members of Congress expressed their condolences following the news of Walorski’s death, with many describing her as caring and kind.

 

“Congresswoman Jackie Walorski was a happy Hoosier who would light up the room with her joy, passion, brilliance, and love of life,” Ways and Means ranking member Kevin Brady, R-Texas, said. “Her Midwestern values of hard work, fairness, and kindness were a model for members.”

 

“Jackie was an instrumental member of our conference, serving as a member of my deputy whip team for several years,” said House Republican Whip Steve Scalise of Louisiana. “She was a champion for the people of Indiana, and she will be remembered for her kindness, tenacity, and commitment to helping others.”

 

When Walorski joined the Ways and Means Committee, amid House Republicans’ tax reform push, she told Tax Notes that she wanted reform to benefit the large contingent of manufacturers in her district.

 

“We’re definitely at the table for tax reform, and Hoosiers always are because of exporting; we’re an agricultural exporting state, a manufacturing exporting state,” Walorski said at the time. “We produce things that people buy, and so [tax reform] is always about the details of what those things look like for us.”

 

In recent months, Walorski introduced bills to double the research credit (H.R. 8253), create a tax credit for donations to scholarship funds for elementary and secondary school students (H.R. 8137), and shorten the depreciation schedules for property to 20 years (H.R. 7229). Over the years, she also signed on to efforts to cut or repeal the estate tax, repeal the medical device excise tax, and expand retirement savings accounts, among others.

 

Walorski was first elected to the House in 2012. Her previous committee assignments included Agriculture, Armed Services, Budget, and Veterans’ Affairs.

 

Before winning election to the U.S. House, Walorski served three terms in the Indiana House of Representatives. Earlier in her career, she worked as a television reporter and as a development director for colleges and universities in Indiana, according to the biography on her House webpage.

 

Walorski and three others were killed in the two-car accident near Nappanee, Indiana, according to reports. The other victims were Emma Thomson, Walorski’s communications director; Zachery Potts, Walorski’s district director; and Edith Schmucker, the driver of the other car.

 

Walorski is survived by her husband, Dean Swihart.

Company Tax Notes
Category FREE CONTENT;ARTICLE / WHITEPAPER
Intended Audience CPA - small firm
CPA - medium firm
CPA - large firm
Published Date 08/04/2022

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Tax Notes is the first source of essential daily news, analysis, and commentary for tax professionals whose success depends on being trusted for their expertise.

Tax Notes is a portfolio of publications offered by Tax Analysts, a nonprofit tax publisher. It provides comprehensive and impartial coverage of tax news, while its commentary contributes important voices to the discussion and understanding of tax policy.

Founded in 1970, Tax Analysts was created to foster free, open, and informed discussion about taxation. In 1972 Tax Analysts published Tax Notes Federal, its first weekly journal, featuring news, commentary, and analysis on federal taxation. In 1989 Tax Analysts added Tax Notes International, a weekly magazine focused on international taxation. Tax Notes State rounded out the weekly portfolio in 1991. Each magazine offers best-in-class tax commentary and analysis on the latest changes in tax law and policy, as well as on court opinions, legislative action, and revenue rulings.

Tax Notes has continued to innovate through the years, adding the online daily news services Tax Notes Today FederalTax Notes Today International, and Tax Notes Today State between 1987 and 1991. Tax Notes also provides several research and reference tools, as well as specialized services focusing on exempt organizations, state tax audit guidance, and international tax treaties.