President Bush Signs Tax Relief Bill |
| By Chief Officer Jerry Dorsey | |
| January 13, 2008 | |
| President Bush Signs Tax Relief For Volunteer Firefighters and EMS Personnel into Law! Right before Christmas, the President signed the The Volunteer Responder Incentive Protection Act (VRIPA) into law! This was passed by the House of Representatives right after it went through the Senate two weeks ago. The language that passed in H.R. 3648 exempts all tax benefits provided by state and local units of government to volunteer firefighters and EMS personnel from taxation by the federal government. Additionally, the first $360 per year of any other type of benefit that a volunteer receives would be exempted from taxation. VRIPA originally passed the House of Representatives on November 6, as part of H.R. 3997. Then two weeks ago, the Senate inserted the VRIPA language into H.R. 3648. All throughout this process, the MCVFRA has been contacting U.S. Senators and Representatives to advocate passage of the provision and asking our LFRDs to do the same. We had TREMENDOUS response from our fire and rescue volunteers in Montgomery County! According to the Joint Committee on Taxation, passage of the H.R. 3648 will result in $994 million in tax savings for volunteer firefighters and EMS personnel over the next 10 years. This is not as good as the UNLIMITED amount on the original bill BUT it is a start. We have gotten commitments from congress members to go back in the near future to AMEND the law (when passed) and get that dollar amount increased. This is a GOOD start!!! Special thanks to Congressman John B. Larson of Connecticut who spearheaded this Bill! He made it his number one priority and he came through for the volunteers! Also thanks to his staff especially Amy O'Donnell Esq., his legislative Assistant. Through their hard work and effort, this Bill finally made it into law! Please pass this information on to your department members as soon as possible. Here is the wording from the Bill: SEC. 5. EXCLUSION FROM INCOME FOR BENEFITS PROVIDED TO VOLUNTEER FIREFIGHTERS AND EMERGENCY MEDICAL RESPONDERS.
`SEC. 139B. BENEFITS PROVIDED TO VOLUNTEER FIREFIGHTERS AND EMERGENCY MEDICAL RESPONDERS.
`(1) any qualified State and local tax benefit, and `(2) any qualified payment. `(b) Denial of Double Benefits- In the case of any member of a qualified volunteer emergency response organization-- `(1) the deduction under 164 shall be determined with regard to any qualified State and local tax benefit, and `(2) expenses paid or incurred by the taxpayer in connection with the performance of services as such a member shall be taken into account under section 170 only to the extent such expenses exceed the amount of any qualified payment excluded from gross income under subsection (a). `(c) Definitions- For purposes of this section-- `(1) QUALIFIED STATE AND LOCAL TAX BENEFIT- The term `qualified state and local tax benefit' means any reduction or rebate of a tax described in paragraph (1), (2), or (3) of section 164(a) provided by a State or political division thereof on account of services performed as a member of a qualified volunteer emergency response organization. `(2) QUALIFIED PAYMENT- `(A) IN GENERAL- The term `qualified payment' means any payment (whether reimbursement or otherwise) provided by a State or political division thereof on account of the performance of services as a member of a qualified volunteer emergency response organization. `(B) APPLICABLE DOLLAR LIMITATION- The amount determined under subparagraph (A) for any taxable year shall not exceed $30 multiplied by the number of months during such year that the taxpayer performs such services. `(3) QUALIFIED VOLUNTEER EMERGENCY RESPONSE ORGANIZATION- The term `qualified volunteer emergency response organization' means any volunteer organization-- `(A) which is organized and operated to provide firefighting or emergency medical services for persons in the State or political subdivision, as the case may be, and `(B) which is required (by written agreement) by the State or political subdivision to furnish firefighting or emergency medical services in such State or political subdivision. `(d) Termination- This section shall not apply with respect to taxable years beginning after December 31, 2010.'. (b) Clerical Amendment- The table of sections for such part is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 139A the following new item: `Sec. 139B. Benefits provided to volunteer firefighters and emergency medical responders.'. (c) Effective Date- The amendments made by this section shall apply to taxable years beginning after December 31, 2007. |
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