PRINTER'S NO. 1057
No. 905 Session of 2007
INTRODUCED BY KING, SOLOBAY, LENTZ, LEVDANSKY, BAKER, BASTIAN,
BENNINGTON, BOYD, CARROLL, CAUSER, CONKLIN, COSTA, COX,
CUTLER, DALLY, DeWEESE, J. EVANS, EVERETT, FLECK, GABIG,
GALLOWAY, GEIST, GEORGE, GIBBONS, GOODMAN, MACKERETH,
MAHONEY, MANN, MARKOSEK, MARSHALL, McCALL, MURT, QUIGLEY,
QUINN, READSHAW, REED, SAYLOR, SCAVELLO, SIPTROTH, K. SMITH,
R. STEVENSON, TANGRETTI, GRUCELA, HARHAI, HARPER, HARRIS,
HORNAMAN, HUTCHINSON, JAMES, KENNEY, KESSLER, KIRKLAND,
KORTZ, KOTIK, KULA, McGEEHAN, McILVAINE SMITH, MICOZZIE,
M. O'BRIEN, PALLONE, PETRARCA, PETRONE, THOMAS, VEREB,
VULAKOVICH, WALKO, WANSACZ, WATERS, J. WHITE, YOUNGBLOOD AND
BRENNAN, MARCH 22, 2007
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON FINANCE, MARCH 22, 2007
AN ACT
1 Amending the act of March 4, 1971 (P.L.6, No.2), entitled "An
2 act relating to tax reform and State taxation by codifying
3 and enumerating certain subjects of taxation and imposing
4 taxes thereon; providing procedures for the payment,
5 collection, administration and enforcement thereof; providing
6 for tax credits in certain cases; conferring powers and
7 imposing duties upon the Department of Revenue, certain
8 employers, fiduciaries, individuals, persons, corporations
9 and other entities; prescribing crimes, offenses and
10 penalties," authorizing a tax credit for volunteer
11 firefighters for purposes of personal income tax.
12 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
13 hereby enacts as follows:
14 Section 1. The act of March 4, 1971 (P.L.6, No.2), known as
15 the Tax Reform Code of 1971, is amended by adding an article to
16 read:
17 ARTICLE XVIII-C
1 VOLUNTEER FIREFIGHTER TAX CREDIT
2 Section 1801-C. Short title.
3 This article shall be known and may be cited as the Volunteer
4 Firefighter Tax Relief Law.
5 Section 1802-C. Definitions.
6 The following words and phrases when used in this article
7 shall have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
8 context clearly indicates otherwise:
9 "Department." The Department of Revenue of the Commonwealth.
10 "Firefighting service hour." An hour during which a
11 volunteer firefighter provides firefighting services in response
12 to an emergency call.
13 "Secretary." The Secretary of Revenue of the Commonwealth.
14 "Taxpayer." An individual who is subject to tax under
15 Article III.
16 "Volunteer firefighter." The term shall have the same
17 meaning given to it under section 2 of the act of June 11, 1968
18 (P.L.149, No.84), known as the Volunteer Firefighters' Relief
19 Association Act.
20 Section 1803-C. Credit authorized.
21 (a) General rule.--A taxpayer who is a volunteer
22 firefighter, responds to an emergency call and has the
23 taxpayer's name entered on the fire log in a taxable year may
24 apply for a tax credit from tax imposed under Article III. By
25 September 15, the taxpayer must submit an application to the
26 department that sets forth the number of firefighting service
27 hours in the calendar year that ended in the prior calendar
28 year.
29 (b) Amount.--A taxpayer that is qualified under subsection
30 (a) shall receive a volunteer firefighter tax credit for the
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1 taxable year in the amount of the product of:
2 (1) the number of firefighting service hours times the
3 service rate established in accordance with section 1804-C;
4 and
5 (2) the rate of tax established in section 302.
6 (c) Award notification.--The department shall notify the
7 taxpayer of the amount of credit awarded under this article.
8 Section 1804-C. Establishment of service rate.
9 The secretary shall prescribe by regulation a service rate
10 equal to an amount of reasonable compensation for the services
11 provided by volunteer firefighters. The secretary may, in his
12 sole discretion, by regulation annually adjust the service rate.
13 Section 1805-C. Report to General Assembly.
14 The secretary shall submit an annual report to the General
15 Assembly indicating the effectiveness of the credit provided by
16 this article not later than March 15 following the year in which
17 the credits are approved. The report shall include the number of
18 taxpayers utilizing the credit as of the date of the report and
19 the number of credits approved and utilized. The report may also
20 include any recommendations for changes in the calculation or
21 administration of the credit.
22 Section 1806-C. Regulations.
23 The secretary shall promulgate regulations necessary for the
24 implementation and administration of this article.
25 Section 2. This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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