Political Quotes

“I rise to introduce the Civil Justice Tax Fairness Act of 2015. I am very pleased to be joined by my colleague from Maryland, Senator Cardin, in introducing this bipartisan bill. This bill would change the taxation of awards received by individuals that result from judgments in or settlements of employment discrimination and civil rights cases, and would apply to victims in cases including racial discrimination, sexual discrimination, and whistleblower discrimination. These changes would correct an inequity in current law and are designed to promote the fair and equitable settlement of such claims. In 2003, I introduced the Civil Rights Tax Relief Act. In 2004, Congress adopted the most important part of that bill, allowing successful plaintiffs in civil rights actions to deduct the portion of their awards covering attorneys' fees from their annual incomes. This provision eliminated the double-taxation of such fees, which are still taxable income to the attorney. Two important provisions from my 2003 bill, which I will describe in a moment, have yet to be addressed, and the bill we introduce today would enact them. The primary purpose of the bill we are introducing today is to remedy an unintended consequence of a 1996 law, which made damage awards that are not based on ``physical injuries or physical sickness'' part of a plaintiff's taxable income.…”