Civil Rights Tax Relief Act (CRTRA) re-introduced
On June 25, 2009, Representatives John Lewis (D-GA) and James Sensenbrenner (R-WI) reintroduced the Civil Rights Tax Relief Act of 2009 (CRTRA). It is now numbered as H.R. 3035. On the same day, Senators Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) and Susan Collins (R-ME) reintroduced the CRTRA in the Senate, where it is now known as S. 1360. The Senate and House bills are identical. They differ from last Congress's CRTRA only in the effective date. The bill would provide that compensatory damages awarded in whistleblower and other cases not involving physical injuries would be excluded from the definition of "income" for income tax purposes. The bill would also permit whistleblowers and civil rights plaintiffs to pay taxes based on the tax rates of the years when the wages would have been earned but for the unlawful discrimination. The National Employment Lawyers Association (NELA) provides more information about these bills. NELA also has an Action Page from which you can ask your legislators to co-sponsor CRTRA.
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