Three US Representatives and 35 co-sponsors have officially introduced the Affordable Footwear Act of 2007 (H.R. 3934) in Congress. Aimed at eliminating import duties on all lower- to moderately-priced footwear as well as all children’s shoes, the current shoe tax currently affects around 60% of all shoes sold in the USA.

Implemented some 75 years ago, the tax — which can be as high as 67% in some cases — was designed to protect the domestic footwear industry; however, those now appealing for its abolition claim that, as 99% of all footwear sold in America is now imported, the tax has out-lived its purpose. 

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