Posted on: Tuesday, April 1, 2003

EDITORIAL
Military tax relief is long overdue

In the face of a war that will cost this nation billions, you'd think it would be a slam dunk to offer modest tax relief to the men and women who are called to fight it.

But for the past six years, Congress has found a way to let this relief — the Armed Forces Tax Fairness Act — slip through the cracks.

According to a recent editorial in the Los Angeles Times, there's a good chance the proposal will fail again this year.

That would be a direct insult to the uniformed forces who wage our war for us.

The Fairness Act would "cost" the federal government something like $100 million a year. That's a substantial amount of money, to be sure, but it is money collected by taxing service members, in effect, for their service.

A key part of the act would allow service members to qualify for a federal capital gains tax exemption on home sales even if they have not lived in their home for two out of the last five years.

Since military families are frequently transferred or reassigned, many do not meet the occupancy criteria. They are not speculators.

Other elements would give tax relief for service-related travel costs and eliminate taxes on lump-sum death benefits for military families.

It is time to reconcile House and Senate versions of this act and get it signed into law.