In recognition of all kinds of military service, Assemblyman Andrew Zwicker sponsors a bill to expand eligibility for the veterans’ gross income tax exemption by eliminating the requirement that a veteran must have served on active duty to qualify. The legislation was advanced by the Assembly Military and Veterans Affairs Committee on Wednesday.
Different orders may be used to deploy members of the military for wartime and emergency missions. Some of the orders military members can receive may not be considered ‘active duty,’ even if their unit is supporting an active mission. As such, some veterans who participated in military training and may have supported important missions are not classified as having served on active duty.
The bill (A-2764) eliminates the requirement that a veteran must have served in active-duty status or federal active-duty status in order to qualify for the $3,000 gross income tax exemption currently offered to New Jersey veterans. As such, any veteran taxpayer who was honorably discharged/discharged under honorable circumstances would be eligible for the tax exemption.
Upon the legislation advancing, Assemblyman Zwicker issued the following statement:
“It takes a lot of courage to choose to serve in the military, knowing you may be called upon to make sacrifices on behalf of your country. Even if a veteran’s service did not qualify as active duty, they still underwent military training and were ready to defend and help their fellow Americans at a moment’s notice. It is only fair these veterans access the same benefits as their fellow veterans.”
The legislation now heads to the Appropriations Committee for further consideration.