A tax break for military retirees has cleared a pair of significant hurdles.
Four days after the measure initially failed, the Senate on Monday voted 18-11 to exempt the first $10,000 of military pensions from the state’s income tax beginning in 2020. Under SB 1167, about 55,000 people who have served at least 20 years in the military would save about $280 a year.
Separately, the House Committee on Military, Veterans and Regulatory Affairs on Monday gave its blessing to HB 2236 on an 8-1 vote. It also would create a $10,000 exemption, albeit on a different schedule.Under current law, people who get pensions from any government agency need not pay taxes on the first $2,500. That includes local, state and federal workers.
Sen. Gail Griffin, R-Hereford, who is championing the Senate version, said raising that exemption should be seen not as a tax cut but as a “workforce development bill.”