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WASHINGTON,
D.C. – U.S. Representative Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) issued today’s “Bush Administration’s
Misstatement of the Day” on the “Disabled Veterans Tax.”
President
Bush issued the following statement in a November 7, 2003
White
House press release:
“Finally,
I am pleased that the House has resolved the issue of concurrent receipt
for military retirees in a fair and responsible manner.”
However,
the Republican proposal signed by the President does not deliver any benefits
to two-thirds of disabled Veterans.
Schakowsky
notes: “Disabled veterans lose precious dollars each month because of the
Disabled Veterans Tax. Many of those disabled veterans are on fixed
incomes and they desperately need every dollar to keep the lights on, the
heat running, the prescriptions filled or the rent paid on time. We must
end the Disabled Veterans Tax – it is unfair, unjust and unpatriotic,”
Schakowsky said.
Schakowsky
called for the immediate passage of H.R. 303, a bipartisan bill with more
than 370 cosponsors that would immediately restore benefits to the 7,048
disabled veterans in Illinois and the more than 560,000 nationwide.
The
study, which was requested by Schakowsky, U.S. Representatives Evans (D-IL),
Ranking Democrat on the Veterans Affairs Committee, and Luis Gutierrez
(D-IL) found:
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Thousands
of veterans in Illinois are subject to the Disabled Veterans Tax. Over
7,000 veterans in Illinois lose military retirement benefits due to the
Disabled Veterans Tax. More than one out of every five retired veterans
in the state (22%) is subject to the Disabled Veterans Tax.
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The
Disabled Veterans Tax costs veterans in Illinois millions of dollars annually.
Statewide, veterans subject to the Disabled Veterans Tax lose $2.7 million
each month or $32.6 million in benefits annually. This is an average
of $4,625 per affected veteran in the state annually. For these veterans,
this amounts to a reduction in military benefits of 23%.
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There
are currently 32,514 veterans in Illinois who receive military retirement
benefits and the average yearly benefit is $15,800.
Click
Here for More Information
Report:
The Disabled Veterans Tax Impacts Thousands of Veterans in Illinois
Additional
Information: The Disabled Veterans Tax Hurts Illinois Veterans |
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