Credit: Lightrocket via Getty Images

Wow, usually a vacation costs you more in taxes, not less.

If there’s one surefire way to incentivize people into doing things, it’s giving them breaks on their taxes. I know a guy who’s always donating clothes and books and stuff to Goodwill, not because he’s especially generous, but because they’re all tax-deductible. So, here’s the question: would you take a vacation right now if doing so got you gigantic credit on your taxes? That’s what Senator Martha McSally wants to know.

On Monday, Senator McSally proposed the American Tax Rebate and Incentive Program, also known as “TRIP.” I do love a good acronym. Basically, under this hypothetical act, any adult American who takes a trip of at least 50 miles away from their registered home address would receive a tax credit of $4,000. That doubles to $8,000 for couples, plus an additional $500 a head if you bring the kids.

Expenses eligible for this credit include all sorts of things, such as food, lodging, event attendance, and general travel costs, even if you’re just traveling for a business meeting or something. You could also use the credit even if you’re going to a vacation home that you personally own (though in that case, you wouldn’t be able to expense lodgings). The only rule is that your trip has to be in the United States.

Credit: Fox 13 Memphis

Of course, the obvious problem with this hypothetical credit is that, well, it’s a credit, not money. You still gotta pay for the trip out of pocket, and then claim it on your taxes next year. A lot of folks don’t really have the money to spend on a long trip right now, and even if they did, a lot of vacation hot spots in the US are also pandemic hot spots.

Still, if this act does get the go-ahead, it could generate some revenue for the aching travel and vacation industries, if only from the exceptionally wealthy and exceptionally fearless.