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The
Issue
Despite a steady increase in the number
of emergency calls, the ranks of volunteer firefighters across the
country steadily decreased between 1983 and 2002. To reverse this
trend, Congress must do more to help fire departments reverse the
damage done by almost 20 years of decline in the numbers of volunteers.
To help recruit and retain volunteer emergency responders, several
states, including Connecticut, passed laws allowing their towns to
provide property tax rebates to residents who volunteer their services
as emergency responders in their community.
However, the IRS ruled that these incentives are considered income and therefore subject to federal taxation.
This ruling clearly undermines the purpose of providing incentives for
individuals to volunteer their time to help keep their communities
safe. It also places an enormous economic burden on localities and the
volunteers these rebates are meant to help. As a result, some towns
have been forced to repeal their programs altogether because it was
simply impossible to reconcile the program within existing federal tax
law.
The
Solution
After learning about this problem, I
immediately held a forum in the district to meet with community leaders
and volunteer emergency responders to solicit ideas and input about how
to best address this problem. From these sessions, I drafted federal
legislation that would clarify the tax status of incentives for
volunteer emergency responders.
In April 2003, I introduced HR 1859
to change federal tax law to exempt property tax abatements or other
incentives offered by local governments to volunteer emergency
responders from income and wage withholdings.
In 109th Congress, I re-introduced this
bill as the Volunteer Responder Incentive Protection Act (HR
1405 ) and have introduced it again in the 110th Congress (HR
943). I will continue to work with my colleagues in Congress
to protect the modest - yet vital - incentives our volunteer
firefighters and medical personnel receive for their service to our
communities. The Volunteer Responder Incentive Protection Act was
included in HR
3997, the Heroes Earnings Assistance and Relief Tax Act (HEART
Act) that passed the House on November 6, 2007 by a vote of 410 -
0. The bill now awaits action in the Senate.
The
Details
Legislative Information
Testimony
9/22/04 - Congressman Larson’s Testimony
before the House Ways
and Means Subcommittee on Select Revenue Measures
Correspondence
- 6/24/05 - Letter from International
Association of Fire Chiefs supporting VRIPA
- 4/20/05 - Letter from National
Volunteer Fire Council supporting VRIPA
- 3/24/03 - Letter of Response from
the Department of the Treasury
- 2/12/03 - Letter to President Bush
urging an administrative stay of the IRS ruling on tax abatements
- 10/2/02 - Letter of support from CT
Attorney General Richard Blumenthal
Press Releases
- 11/01/07 - Firefighter
Legislation Passes Committee
- 10/12/07 - Larson Fights for Firefighters’
Rights
- 2/12/07 - Larson Holds Roundtable
with Local Volunteer Firefighters as he Reintroduces Bill to Provide Tax
Relief for Volunteer First Responders
- 9/22/04 - Larson Will Testify Before
Ways and Means Committee on Bill to Protect Tax Relief for Volunteer First
Responders
- 4/25/03 - Dodd,
Lieberman and Larson Call for Protection of Tax Relief for Volunteer First
Responders
- 2/13/03 - Congressional Delegation
Urges Bush to End Taxation of Volunteer Emergency Responder Incentives
Related Information
On
February 12, 2007, Congressman Larson met with South Windsor Mayor Matthew
Streeter, South Windsor Fire Chief Phil Crombie, and other local volunteer
first responders to discuss tax abatements offered by local governments as
incentives for recruitment and retention. In 2002, South
Windsor officials alerted Larson to the fact that the IRS decided
to tax these tax incentives. Larson reintroduced the Volunteer
Firefighter’s Tax Incentive Protection Act (H.R. 943) on February 8 with 57
cosponsors.
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