House panel poised to OK military tax breaks

[unhappycamper]

House panel poised to OK military tax breaks
By William H. McMichael - Staff writer
Posted : Wednesday Oct 31, 2007 17:05:07 EDT

A House committee is expected to pass on Thursday a package of tax and earnings benefits for veterans, firefighters and certain volunteers that would make permanent a provision allowing certain lower-income troops who served in a combat zone to maintain their eligibility for the refundable Earned Income Tax Credit.

Before Congress amended the EITC several years ago, a service member who served in a combat zone during the tax year may not have qualified for the credit because war-zone pay is tax-free and did not count as earned income — and a certain baseline level of taxable income is required to qualify for the credit, according to Jessica Perdew of the National Military Family Association.

Congress changed the rules to allow service members to declare their war-zone income as earned for the purposes of qualifying for the tax credit — though because either all or none of the combat pay must be used in the calculation, doing so may or may not help maximize the refund. The change is due to expire at year’s end, but the new bill that is pending would make the provision permanent.

The Heroes Earnings Assistance and Relief Tax Act of 2007, sponsored by House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., includes 13 other provisions for the full committee to consider. They would:

• Make permanent and modify qualified mortgage bonds used to finance residences for veterans.

• Modify the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act to allow the day prior to the date of death to be treated as the date the employee returned to work for purposes of triggering payment of benefits under a qualified plan.


Rest of article at: http://www.armytimes.com/news/2007/10/military_taxbreaks_071031w/



uhc comment: I expect dubya to veto as 'unnecessary' or 'too expensive'.

[Squatch]

1. Good news! But, how long did it take them to come up with H.E.A.R.T?