[StBernard] Landrieu Comments on House Passage of Road Home Tax Fix

Westley Annis Westley at da-parish.com
Thu May 22 23:11:51 EDT 2008


Landrieu Comments on House Passage of Road Home Tax Fix
GO Zone benefits will also be extended.



WASHINGTON - United States Senator Mary Landrieu, D-La., today commented on
the House of Representative's passage of HR 6049, a piece of legislation
that includes a provision similar to the one authored by Sen. Landrieu in
the Senate, to relieve thousands of Gulf Coast families from an onerous tax
burden. The legislation passed the House by 263-160, and will result in $1.3
billion in tax relief for Gulf Coast homeowners and businesses.

"It is very positive news that the House of Representatives has followed the
Senate's lead and passed this critical tax relief for Gulf Coast
homeowners," Sen. Landrieu said. "The Road Home grants were never intended
to be taxed, and as the Gulf Coast persists in its struggle to rebuild, our
families should not be faced with bureaucratic obstacles that only add to
the difficulties."

This "Road Home tax fix" applies to homeowners who took a casualty loss
deduction on their 2005 federal tax returns to account for damage to their
homes following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. These homeowners were
subsequently required by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to pay income
tax on their rebuilding grants.

In April, the Senate passed legislation to allow homeowners who took the
2005 casualty loss deduction to amend their 2005 return by repaying whatever
savings they received with only one year of interest. Their rebuilding grant
income would then be tax-free.

The House legislation further benefits the Gulf Coast by mirroring the
Senate-passed plan to extend the deadline under which businesses are
required to begin construction of new ventures in hurricane-affected areas
in order to benefit from Gulf Opportunity Zone (GO Zone) bonus depreciation
tax benefits. Currently, only projects that began on December 31, 2007 were
eligible for the tax relief. Under the Landrieu plan now passed by both
chambers, no commencement deadline will exist.

Of the $1.3 billion, the GO Zone extension provides an estimated $308
million in benefits to Gulf Coast businesses and residential development.
The House and Senate must now reconcile the different versions of the
legislation to they each passed before sending the measure to the President
for signature.

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