Governor Charles D. Baker's Budget Recommendation - House 1 Fiscal Year 2016

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1.024 -Exemption of Benefits and Allowances to Armed Forces Personnel


Item DescriptionFY2012 FY2013 FY2014 FY2015 FY2016
1.024 Exemption of Benefits and Allowances to Armed Forces Personnel1
Under the January 1, 1998 Code, Massachusetts allowed the federal exclusion for certain military fringe benefits including combat zone compensation, veterans' and medical benefits, disability benefits, moving allowances and a death gratuity benefit of $3,000. As a result of recent legislation under which the Commonwealth incorporated into Massachusetts personal income tax law the Code as amended and in effect on January 1, 2005 (hereinafter referred to as the "Code Update"). This exclusion was extended to include dependent care assistance under a dependent care assistance program, travel benefits received under the Operation Hero Miles program and an increased death benefit gratuity of $12,000.

Origin:  IRC S. 112-113
Estimate:  $30.5
19.3 22.1 27.7 28.4 30.5

Key:

ORIGIN  
IRCFederal Internal Revenue Code (26 U.S.C.)
U.S.C United States Code
M.G.L. Massachusetts General Laws
Rev. Rul.; C.B. Revenue Ruling; Cumulative Bulletin of the U.S. Treasury
ESTIMATES All estimates are in $ millions.


Footnote:

1 1 This item and others citing this endnote cover employee fringe benefits. We accept as standard the following treatment of these benefits: the expense incurred by the employer in providing the benefit is properly deductible as a business expense and the benefit is taxed as compensation to the employee as if the employee had received taxable compensation and then used it to purchase the benefit. Of course, there are problems with this analysis. In some cases, the "benefit" is more a condition of employment than a true benefit. For example, a teacher required to have lunch in the school cafeteria may prefer to eat elsewhere even if the school lunch is free. On the other hand, in many cases the provision of tax-free employee benefits is clearly a substitution for taxable compensation.


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