Political Quotes

“Madam Speaker, on July 9, 2002, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 5063, the Armed Forces Tax Fairness Act of 2002, by a unanimous bipartisan vote of 413 to 0. That legislation contained two important provisions that would restore equity to the Tax Code for Members of the Armed Forces. The Senate expanded the bill by adding other provisions and passed H.R. 5063 by unanimous consent on October 3. The bill before us today, H.R. 5557, combines the House- and Senate-passed bills to provide several important tax benefits to members of our Nation's military. First, H.R. 5557 fixes an inequity in the law relating to the capital gains exclusion on home sales. Under the present law, the first $250,000 of gain from the sale of a home is not subject to capital gains tax if the individual lived in the home for 2 of the past 5 years. The exclusion is $500,000 for married couples. Members of the military and Foreign Service often cannot meet this residency requirement if they are transferred on extended duty. As a result, military personnel, through no fault of their own, cannot take advantage of the tax relief when they sell their homes. The Armed Forces Tax Fairness Act of 2002 fixes this inequity by suspending the 5-year ownership test when a member of the military or Foreign Service is transferred on extended duty more than 150 miles from home.”