Reservist Payroll Credit Approved

A Senate bill offers tax breaks for employers with workers on active duty.

By Laura Palotie | 
 

This week the Senate unanimously passed a bill that provides tax credits for small-business owners with reservist employees on active duty.

The Heroes Earnings Assistance and Relief Tax Act, or HEART, provides up to $4,000 in tax credits on salary differential for reservists. It also offers penalty-free retirement account withdrawals for military personnel, and makes their spouses eligible for tax rebate checks from the federal economic stimulus package.

Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.), the chairman of the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, said the bill rewards reservists for serving the nation, rather than penalizing them with burdensome taxes.

"This tax relief is one small step towards providing our troops the economic security they deserve," Kerry said in a statement.

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