Federal act could provide relief to TN storm victims

JACKSON, Tenn. — A new legislation has been introduced to help those who have been impacted by natural disasters.

Congressman David Kustoff and Congresswoman Judy Chu filed the bipartisan, bicameral Relief for Natural Disasters Act in the House of Representatives on Monday.

The legislation would provide relief for taxpayers impacted by natural disasters and emergencies.

“As we have natural disasters and emergencies in states across the country, it impacts the ability of people to file their taxes on time, obviously depending on when the natural disaster occurred,” Kustoff said.

The act would authorize the IRS to extend relief to impacted taxpayers as soon as the governor of a state declares a disaster or state of emergency.

“It could be any type of natural disaster that may not rise to be a federal disaster, but would be, could be a state-declared disaster,” Kustoff said.

Kustoff said the Relief Act would provide relief to taxpayers affected by such crisis so that they can focus on what matters the most: caring for loved ones and rebuilding.

“From a real world perspective, people in West Tennessee have been impacted by tornado damage and last thing they want to have to do is have to think about the IRS. They want to think about what they can do to repair their home or rebuild their home,” he said.

Kustoff says he looks forward to debating the bill and adds, hopefully, it will vote in a day to be determined.

Currently, the IRS has the authority to postpone tax filing deadlines to taxpayers affected by federally-declared disasters.

However, this does not extend to state-level emergencies.

You can find more news from across the state here.