Detroit Free Press - Legislation for Reservist Pay Proposed

News Article

By Todd Spangler

U.S. Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., is sponsoring legislation to extend a tax credit for small businesses that provide differential pay to active-duty military reservists and National Guard members.

Originally enacted in 2008, the measure provides a tax credit worth 20% of a small businesses' cost of making up the balance of an employee's salary when he or she is called to active duty. The legislation would extend the credit for five years.

Peters, a former Navy Reserve officer, is sponsoring the legislation with U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, who is a lieutenant colonel in the Iowa Army National Guard and served in Kuwait and Iraq.

There are some 824,000 reservists and National Guard members in the U.S., 15,438 of whom serve units in Michigan.

"Reservists in Michigan and across the country put their lives on the line and stand ready to protect our country," Peters said. "Our reservists should not have to worry about whether they will be able to provide for their families when called to serve our nation on active duty."

Peters had previously introduced the legislation as a member of the U.S. House. The tax credit expired at the end of 2014.

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