Press Release

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the House passed by unanimous consent legislation to help wrongfully convicted individuals. Specifically, H.R. 6438 – introduced by Congressmen Sam Johnson (TX-03) and John Larson (CT-01) – temporarily extends the deadline for these innocent folks to apply for tax relief on their restitution.  This extension is vital because the original one-year deadline to apply for refunds on taxes unfairly paid years ago was effectively cut short due to the IRS’s slow implementation of this critical relief.  

In response to the passage of the deadline extension, Johnson and Larson (CT-01) released the following joint statement:

“Americans who have been wrongfully convicted suffered enough.  While we can never right this wrong and return to them the time they spent behind bars, we can help these folks as they move forward with their lives.  So when we found out the IRS was taxing the restitution awarded to wrongfully imprisoned folks, we worked hard to put a stop to this additional injustice.  What’s more, we made sure the tax relief was retroactive.  Unfortunately, despite our urging, the IRS took six months to release its guidance.  This negligent delay effectively cut the one-year deadline for folks to apply in half.  Today's deadline extension is the right thing to do, as is evidenced by its full support of the House.”

Background:

The original deadline for the Wrongful Conviction Tax Relief Act (H.R. 3086) was signed into law last December as part of the PATH Act (H.R. 2029).

On January 12, 2016: Congressmen Johnson and Larson send letter to IRS Commissioner to ensure implementation of PATH Act without delay.         

On April 10, 2016: at a Ways and Means hearing, Commissioner Koskinen is asked for an update on implementation.