Press Releases

Washington, D.C. – Today, Representative Brad Wenstrup (R-OH) released the following statement after joining a bipartisan group of representatives to introduce legislation to provide tax relief to children who have lost a parent serving in the military:  

“In 2017, we worked to simplify the way children are taxed on their unearned income. We recently found out that that simplification has created an unintended consequence for Gold Star families. It has long been our objective to ensure that our tax code works for all Americans, and I am eager for House consideration of this bipartisan solution to protect Gold Star families and provide retroactive relief to them,” said Congressman Brad Wenstrup (OH-02).

Kevin Brady (R-TX), the top Republican on the House Ways and Means Committee, said:

“I want to especially thank Dr. Wenstrup for his important work on this bill, and I encourage quick action so we can provide certainty to these families.”

Background

Simplification of a special tax dating back to 1986 – a tax that was intended to stop wealthy parents from sheltering income by shifting it to their children with lower tax rates – inadvertently caused higher taxes on military survivor benefits.  The new proposal will effectively remove these benefits from the special 1986 tax.

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