U.S. Senate Passes Tax Relief For Hurricane Harvey Victims

‘This relief will help folks get back on their feet as they rebuild their homes, and businesses, and neighborhoods in the wake of these hurricanes.’

‘What’s no longer up in the air is this: for many Texans, Floridians, and Puerto Ricans, targeted tax relief will serve to make a difficult year just a little easier. So I salute the House for getting the job done, and I’m glad that we in this Chamber have quickly followed suit.’

Washington – The Senate passed a reauthorization of the Federal Aviation Administration, which included a targeted tax relief provision that would allow victims of Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria to deduct property damage costs and access retirement savings without penalties.  Senator Cornyn made the following remarks about the provision, and video of his remarks can be found here. 

“What many of these folks will have to do is to dip into their retirement savings and other savings in order to help get life back to normal. And this relief will help folks get back on their feet as they rebuild their homes, and businesses, and neighborhoods in the wake of these hurricanes.”

“These provisions will help hurricane victims in all of the devastated areas keep more of their paycheck, first and foremost, but be able to deduct the cost of their property damage from their tax return, and encourage even more Americans to generously donate to hurricane relief and help their neighbors and employees.”

“They will complement other measures taken by the federal government, as well as state and local actors.”

“What’s no longer up in the air is this: for many Texans, Floridians, and Puerto Ricans, targeted tax relief will serve to make a difficult year just a little easier. So I salute the House for getting the job done, and I’m glad that we in this Chamber have quickly followed suit.”

Senator John Cornyn, a Republican from Texas, is a member of the Senate Finance, Intelligence, and Judiciary Committees.