Combat injured veterans should hear from the Department of Veterans Affairs soon about money they are owed following a computer glitch.
The Combat-Injured Veterans Tax Fairness Act of 2016, put into law Dec. 16, requires the DoD to identify each veteran whose severance pay was wrongfully taxed. A computer issue within the Department of Defense has been erroneously taking taxes from the payments since 1991.
Veterans will be notified on both the amount of tax withheld from their severance and how to properly file the new level of income with their taxes.
Onslow County Veteran Services said the new law aligns with what the Department of Veterans Affairs does for severance pay received due to combat injuries.
“It is a good benefit for veterans who were medically separated from combat injuries,” Onslow County Communications Specialist Riley Eversull said.
Installations East Retired Affairs Officer Luis Alers-Dejesus said the new law is a sign of hope within the VA.
Alers said he was happy to hear that the veterans will finally be getting the full amount of money they deserve, and sees it being helpful to them.
“This is a step in the right direction,” he said. “I just hope that instead of doing just this (tax fairness act) that the government will look at the internal workings for VA health care and see how they can fully benefit the veteran for a lifetime.”
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