Released 3/19/18 | Tags: Congressional Legislation
Due to the role of National Veterans Legal Services Program (NVLSP) in helping to pass the Combat-injured Veterans Tax Fairness Act of 2016, the Department of Defense (DoD) is informing more than 130,000 wounded warriors they are eligible for tax refunds.
These combat-injured veterans, owed money dating back to January 17, 1991, are expected to be notified that their disability severance pay had been improperly taxed because of a technical glitch in the DoD’s payment system.
NVLSP first identified the improper taxation of severance payments after examining pay records of veterans whom the organization was assisting and conducting research into the Defense Finance and Accounting Service’s payment system and brought it to the attention of lawmakers like Virginia Senator Mark Warner and Arkansas Senator John Boozman. The senators’ efforts led to the enactment of the Combat-Injured Veterans Tax Fairness Act of 2016. The law requires DoD to identify veterans whose benefits were improperly taxed and notify them about the amount of disability severance payments improperly taxed and instructions for filing an amended tax return to recover the amounts improperly withheld.
NVLSP Senior Staff Attorney Tom Moore spoke with WJLA – ABC7 in Washington, DC in early February about implications of this issue.