Press Release
Posted:
Washington – Today, Reps. Mike Thompson (CA-04) and Doug LaMalfa (CA-01) introduced a revised version of their bipartisan legislation that would shield thousands of fire victims from taxation on compensation received in the aftermath of a wildfire. This protection would cover payments made from the Fire Victim Trust, a $13.5 billion wildfire settlement for nearly 70,000 victims of the 2018 Camp Fire, 2017 North Bay Wildfires, and the 2015 Butte Fire.
“Wildfire survivors should not have to pay taxes on compensation to which they’re entitled,” said Thompson. “I have worked closely with Rep. LaMalfa, the Joint Committee on Taxation, the Ways and Means Committee and Congressional leadership to ensure that we swiftly pass legislation protecting survivors from taxation. The revised bill I introduced today with Rep. LaMalfa is a retroactive approach that protects our communities – and this tax relief remains my top priority in Congress. I am optimistic Congress will pass our bill.”
“Camp Fire survivors have waited long enough to have tax clarity. I believe that these changes will make this essential legislation easier to incorporate into a larger disaster relief or tax package. This initiative has been a top priority and it has gathered broad bipartisan support. Congress must be timely and enact this bill into law to get wildfire survivors the financial certainty they need,” said LaMalfa.
Earlier this year, Congressmen Thompson and LaMalfa introduced H.R. 176, a similar version of this legislation which was designed only to cover the Fire Victim Trust claimants. The bill introduced today has been expanded to remove requirements that limited payments to settlement trust funds, thereby expanding protection to anyone receiving disaster aid payments to reimburse wildfire-related losses. The updated language also represents bipartisan agreements between the House and Senate committees that oversee tax policy.
Last year, the Congressmen were nearly able to secure passage through inclusion in the Fiscal Year 2023 government funding package, before all tax-related provisions were removed by the Senate.