Gives state income tax credit to volunteer firefighters and members of a volunteer ambulance corps in good standing up to $2500; must be in good standing for a minimum of five years and maintain continued eligibility.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A1064
SPONSOR: Angelino TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the tax law, in relation to providing for a credit
against personal income tax for volunteer firefighters and members of
volunteer ambulance corps
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
Gives state income tax credit to volunteer firefighters and members of a
volunteer ambulance corps in good standing up to $2500.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1. Section 606 of the tax law is amended by adding a new
subsection (qqq) to read as follows: Volunteer firefighters and members
of volunteer ambulance corps, service credit. In the case of a member of
a volunteer fire department or a member of a volunteer ambulance corps
who has been a member in good standing with a volunteer department for a
minimum of five years and who maintains continuous eligibility, in this
state, there shall be allowed a credit against any income tax owed by
such member in an amount which is equal to the sum of two thousand five
hundred dollars or the total amount of the tax owed by the taxpayer if
less than two thousand five hundred dollars, whichever is lower.
JUSTIFICATION:
Volunteer firefighters and ambulance corps do not receive compensation'
ompensation for the vital civic duty they render communities statewide.
Due to the threat of serious injury associated with these services, and
due to the free and very valuable public service they provide, a tax
incentive is certainly warranted for those individuals. Many localities
have granted certain volunteer firefighters and ambulance workers a real
property tax exemption for the performance of such services on a regular
and long-term basis. Although a valuable public regard for their
service, many volunteer firefighters and ambulance corps workers, espe-
cially younger ones, do not own a home and hence cannot benefit from
such a program. This income tax credit would uniformly benefit nearly
all such volunteers and would provide an important new recruitment tool
to attract new volunteer firefighters and ambulance corps workers into
this critical public service.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
None.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
To be determined.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the first of January next succeeding the
date on which it shall have become law and shall apply to taxable years
beginning on or after such date. Effective immediately the commissioner
of taxation and finance is authorized to . promulgate any and all rules
and regulations and take any other measures necessary to implement this
act on its effective date on or before such date.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
1064
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
January 8, 2025
___________
Introduced by M. of A. ANGELINO, BENDETT, BRABENEC, K. BROWN, DeSTEFANO,
DURSO, LEMONDES, MANKTELOW, McDONOUGH, MIKULIN, MILLER, MORINELLO,
SMULLEN, TAGUE -- read once and referred to the Committee on Ways and
Means
AN ACT to amend the tax law, in relation to providing for a credit
against personal income tax for volunteer firefighters and members of
volunteer ambulance corps
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Section 606 of the tax law is amended by adding a new
2 subsection (qqq) to read as follows:
3 (qqq) Volunteer firefighters and members of volunteer ambulance corps
4 service credit. In the case of a member of a volunteer fire department
5 or a member of a volunteer ambulance corps who has been a member in good
6 standing with a volunteer department for a minimum of five years and who
7 maintains continuous eligibility, in this state, there shall be allowed
8 a credit against any income tax owed by such member in an amount which
9 is equal to the sum of two thousand five hundred dollars or the total
10 amount of the tax owed by the taxpayer if less than two thousand five
11 hundred dollars, whichever is lower.
12 § 2. This act shall take effect on the first of January next succeed-
13 ing the date on which it shall have become a law and shall apply to
14 taxable years beginning on or after such date. Effective immediately the
15 commissioner of taxation and finance is authorized to promulgate any and
16 all rules and regulations and take any other measures necessary to
17 implement this act on its effective date on or before such date.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD02694-01-5
