Wounded Warrior Tax Equity Act Would Provide Tax Relief to Injured Military Personnel While They Recover / Military Spouses Job Continuity Act Supports Economic Security of Military Households by Defraying Cost of Obtaining a Professional License When a Military Family Moves to Serve in a New Location / Bills Clear Senate Finance Committee in Bipartisan Fashion Increasing Chances to Enact Proposals into Law this Year
Washington, DC- Today, two pieces of legislation introduced by U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) sailed through the Senate Finance Committee in a bipartisan fashion. One piece of legislation, the Military Spouses Job Continuity Act, defrays the cost of renewing or transferring a professional license when a military family moves to serve the country in a new location. Another, the Wounded Warrior Tax Equity Act would provide tax relief to injured military personnel as they recover.
“Our military families make countless sacrifices on our nation’s behalf. We have an obligation to take steps that aid these families as they serve,” Senator Casey said. “These are two commonsense proposals that can help our wounded warriors and military spouses. I’m hopeful that today’s bipartisan vote in the Senate Finance Committee will put these bills on the road to becoming law this year.”
Military Spouses Job Continuity Act
More than 1.1 million active duty service members in the Air Force, Army, Marine Corps and Navy received Change of Station orders from 2008 to 2009. With the frequency of Change of Station orders, most military spouses are already limited to career paths that allow them to follow their spouse. This legislation decreases this barrier for military spouses after relocation and helps them more easily re-enter the workforce by providing a tax credit of up to $500 when a military family moves across state lines.
The tax credit would be applicable for the renewal or transfer of a professional license in a range of fields including child care, nursing and health services, all of which are common occupations of military spouses.
This bill is supported by:
- The National Military Family Association
- The Military Officers Association of America
- The National Guard Association of the United States.
Wounded Warrior Tax Equity Act
Under current law, hospitalized military personnel and civilians are treated differently by the IRS. Specifically, the IRS applies something called the collection stature expiration date (CSED), which dictates the length time for the collection of a tax liability (typically 10 years.) Under current law, a civilian undergoing continuous treatment can defer tax collection without extending the liability period beyond 10 years. A military personnel member does not have the same treatment and in fact may be placed at a disadvantage because the CSED clock continues to run thereby extending the liability period beyond 10 years.
The National Taxpayer Advocate has recommended amending the law to ensure identical treatment of civilians and military personnel. The Wounded Warrior Tax Equity Act makes that straightforward change.
This bill is supported by:
- Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW)
- Reserve Officers Association
- Fleet Reserve Association
- Association of the United States Army
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