Senator Roberts: Senate Approves Critical Military Tax Relief
Forges Agreement to Move Housing Bill for Kansas Military Families
U.S. Senator Pat Roberts today announced a military tax relief bill, the Heroes Earnings Assistance and Relief Tax (HEART) Act of 2008, was approved by the Senate following an agreement to move his legislation to help ensure military families have access to affordable housing.
"I am pleased to announce that the Senate Finance Committee and the House Ways and Means Committee have agreed to move forward on my bill to address housing problems in communities around Ft. Riley," Senator Roberts said.
Senator Max Baucus (D-MT), Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee and House Ways and Means Committee Chairman, Charles Rangel (D-NY), have agreed to consider the legislation during the debate on the housing package.
"The bill we passed today contains most, but not all, of the provisions endorsed by the Senate. One provision that is not included would have provided more flexibility to owners and investors in residential multi-family housing involving low-income housing tax credits, to offer more military personnel housing in complexes near military bases," said Senator Baucus. "Senator Pat Roberts (R-Kans.) brought this proposal to the attention of the Senate, and I intend to work with Senator Roberts and with our House counterparts to move this provision forward."
Roberts' housing legislation, passed unanimously twice by the Senate but recently removed in the House, would change Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) guidelines to ensure Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) does not count against servicemembers when applying to live in affordable rental housing.
The issue is especially troubling in Geary County where affordable housing is in high demand as more and more families are redeployed to Ft. Riley. Under the recent base realignment process, thousands of troops and their families will be posted to Ft. Riley over the next several years.
The Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) was created by the Tax Reform Act of 1986 as an alternative method to finance housing for low and moderate income households in private developments. It is managed by the states and has been one of the most successful housing programs ever created by Congress.
Unfortunately, LIHTC guidelines are inconsistent and often harm the families of some enlisted military personnel whose basic allowance for housing makes their income too high to be eligible for LIHTC homes.
"The basic allowance is not true, disposable income," Senator Roberts said, "It is not counted as income when soldiers file their income taxes and, therefore, it should not be counted as income when they apply for housing built using tax credits. My legislation takes the basic allowance out of the formula for eligibility for LIHTC housing."
"In Kansas, this is especially necessary when there is safe, affordable housing around Ft. Riley that could be available for our service members if it weren't for the inconsistencies in the guidelines," Roberts said.