A tax package that would help those financially impacted by Superstorm Sandy will be introduced in Congress, announced Senators Charles Schumer and Robert Menendez.
The Hurricane Sandy and National Disaster Tax Relief Act of 2012 that the New York and New Jersey U.S. senators are introducing includes deductions for storm clean up expenses, additional exceptions for those that provided free housing to displaced Sandy victims, worker retention credits for business owners who continue to pay employees even though their businesses were inoperable, the waiving of penalties for those that withdrew from their retirement plan early and other tax benefits.
“When recovering from a hammer-blow like Sandy, every bit of support helps, and this legislation will make it easier for families and small businesses affected by the storm to marshal more of their resources for recovery,” said Schumer. “These changes to existing tax law are a common sense and simple way to help disaster victims, and a quick way to get them aid to repair their homes, to recover losses and to support their businesses.”
The legislation also helps out taxpayers that made donations to Sandy relief.
Currently, contributions to qualified charitable organizations cannot exceed 50 percent of a person’s adjusted gross income, but the legislation would remove the limit.
Read a summary of the full tax package here.
