Bill offers tax support to disaster victims

CHICO, Calif. — Lawmakers on Capitol Hill are looking for new ways to offer tax support to disaster victims. Under a proposed measure, taxpayers in federally-declared disaster zones would be able to use their previous year's income to calculate tax credits.

Representative Katie Porter (D-Calif.) said the legislation will help support Californians, noting that the state has already had five disaster declarations in 2023 alone. She says many victims lost their jobs and businesses following disasters and, as a result, lost out on tax credits they could be benefiting from.

"People shouldn't have to worry about when their a victim of a natural disaster that their taxes will go up," Porter said. "The idea, here, is to address the income disruption that often results from a disaster. For example, people may get less help because they appear to get less money and they might not qualify for certain things."

The Earned Income Tax Credit is also calculated based on taxpayers' income and a loss in that income could reduce the amount someone receives annually.

"The goal, here, is to make sure that we're not tax challenges for disaster victims," she said.

The measure has bipartisan support.

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