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Payments to Pa. residents harmed by train derailment catastrophe would be tax-exempt under proposed state law
Payments to Pa. residents harmed by train derailment catastrophe would be tax-exempt under proposed state law
FORD TURNER
Post-Gazette Harrisburg Bureau
fturner@post-gazette.com
JUN 3, 2024 5:10 PM
HARRISBURG — Compensatory payments made to Pennsylvania residents harmed by the 2023 derailment of a Norfolk Southern train carrying toxic chemicals would be exempt from state tax under a proposal that advanced in the Senate on Monday.
Payments exempted under the bill that cleared the Senate Appropriations Committee would include those flowing from a $600 million proposed settlement that got tentative court approval last month and others, according to Sen. Doug Mastriano, R-Franklin.
Mr. Mastriano, the prime sponsor, said the idea sprang out of conversations with affected residents who came to Community College of Beaver County for a hearing on Feb. 23, 2023, 20 days after the derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, just across the state line.
Some of those residents, he said, asked questions about whether there would be taxes on damage payments. His bill, he said, would exempt from state tax payments “going all the way back to the date of the derailment.”
The Pennsylvania Capitol is seen, Feb. 6, 2024, in Harrisburg, Pa. Pennsylvania lawmakers will return to session Monday, June 3, as they begin a four-week countdown to the state government's new fiscal year, as Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro and Republican lawmakers offer competing visions for how to use a massive surplus.
{snip}
Ford Turner: fturner@post-gazette.com
First Published: June 3, 2024, 5:10 p.m.
Updated: June 4, 2024, 11:53 a.m.
FORD TURNER
Post-Gazette Harrisburg Bureau
fturner@post-gazette.com
JUN 3, 2024 5:10 PM
HARRISBURG — Compensatory payments made to Pennsylvania residents harmed by the 2023 derailment of a Norfolk Southern train carrying toxic chemicals would be exempt from state tax under a proposal that advanced in the Senate on Monday.
Payments exempted under the bill that cleared the Senate Appropriations Committee would include those flowing from a $600 million proposed settlement that got tentative court approval last month and others, according to Sen. Doug Mastriano, R-Franklin.
Mr. Mastriano, the prime sponsor, said the idea sprang out of conversations with affected residents who came to Community College of Beaver County for a hearing on Feb. 23, 2023, 20 days after the derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, just across the state line.
Some of those residents, he said, asked questions about whether there would be taxes on damage payments. His bill, he said, would exempt from state tax payments “going all the way back to the date of the derailment.”
The Pennsylvania Capitol is seen, Feb. 6, 2024, in Harrisburg, Pa. Pennsylvania lawmakers will return to session Monday, June 3, as they begin a four-week countdown to the state government's new fiscal year, as Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro and Republican lawmakers offer competing visions for how to use a massive surplus.
{snip}
Ford Turner: fturner@post-gazette.com
First Published: June 3, 2024, 5:10 p.m.
Updated: June 4, 2024, 11:53 a.m.