[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 144 (Thursday, October 21, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2154]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               INTRODUCTION OF PUBLIC SAFETY TAX CUT ACT

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                             HON. RON PAUL

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, October 21, 1999

  Mr. PAUL. Mr. Speaker, today I am introducing the Public Safety Tax 
Cut Act. This legislation will achieve two important public policy 
goals.
  First, it will effectively overturn a ruling of the Internal Revenue 
Service which has declared as taxable income the waiving of fees by 
local governments who provide service for public safety volunteers.
  Many local governments use volunteer firefighters and auxiliary 
police either in place of, or as a supplement to, their public safety 
professionals. Often as an incentive to would-be volunteers, the local 
entities might waive all or a portion of the fees typically charged for 
city services such as the provision of drinking water, sewerage 
charges, or debris pick up. Local entities make these decisions for the 
purpose of encouraging folks to volunteer, and seldom do these benefits 
come anywhere near the level of a true compensation for the many hours 
of training and service required of the volunteers. This, of course, 
not even to mention the fact that these volunteers could very possibly 
be called into a situation where they may have to put their lives on 
the line.
  Rather than encouraging this type of volunteerism, which is so 
crucial, particularly to America's rural communities, the IRS has 
decided that the provision of the benefits described above amount to 
taxable income. Not only does this adversely affect the financial 
position of the volunteer by foisting new taxes about him or her, it 
has in fact led local entities to stop providing these benefits, thus 
taking away a key tool they have used to recruit volunteers. That is 
why the IRS ruling in this instance has a substantial deleterious 
impact on the spirit of American volunteerism. How far could this go? 
For example, would consistent application mean that a local Salvation 
Army volunteer be taxed for the value of a complimentary ticket to that 
organization's annual county dinner? This is obviously bad policy.
  This legislation would rectify this situation by specifically 
exempting these types of benefits from federal taxation.
  Next, this legislation would also provide paid professional police 
and fire officers with a $1,000 per year tax credit. These professional 
public safety officers put their lives on the line each and every day, 
and I think we all agree that there is no way to properly compensate 
them for the fabulous services they provide. In America we have a 
tradition of local law enforcement and public safety provision. So, 
while it is not the role of our federal government to increase the 
salaries of these, it certainly is within our authority to increase 
their take-home pay by reducing the amount of money that we take from 
their pockets via federal taxation, and that is something this bill 
specifically does as well.
  Mr. Speaker I am proud to introduce the Public Safety Tax Cut Act, 
and I request that my fellow Members join in support of this key 
legislation.

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