Congressman Mike Fitzpatrick (PA-8) finally received the answer he was looking for from the Department of Treasury Friday, in response to his repeated requests for clarification of how the Affordable Care Act (ACA) affects first responder volunteer organizations.
There was real potential for first responder organizations to be taxed under IRS guidelines and the ACA if the taxing agency didn’t grant a waiver of some kind or the Protecting Volunteer Firefighter’s and Emergency Act (HR3685) wasn’t passed in the both the House and Senate and signed into law by the president.
Advertisements
The US Treasury Department cleared the way on Friday when it announced the clarification Fitzpatrick has been seeking now for several months.
Fitzpatrick has been raising the issue recently and in reaction and helped introduce the measure, which according to media reports garnered bipartisan support in congress, that would burn up the requirements for good.
“As a result of that review and further analysis concerning the appropriate treatment of volunteer firefighters and volunteer emergency personnel under section 4980H, the forthcoming final regulations generally will not require volunteer hours of bona fide volunteer firefighters and volunteer emergency medical personnel at governmental entities or tax-exempt organizations to be counted when determining an employer’s full-time employees or full-time equivalent employees,” the congressman said in a release.
Advertisements
The US Department of Treasury said in a statement Friday it has reviewed comments and concerns from the public, stat and federal legislators leading to the determination that “employer shared responsibility generally will not require volunteer hours of bona fide volunteer firefighters and volunteer emergency medical personnel at governmental or tax-exempt organizations to be counted when determining full-time employees (or full-time equivalents).”
“After several months, it was time for the Internal Revenue Service to make a call regarding the status of volunteer fire fighters under the health care law – thankfully for our community emergency responders, they made the right one. With over 90% of fire departments in Pennsylvania being manned by volunteers, this ruling is crucial to their continued operation and success. I look forward to reviewing the final rulings to ensure that our brave first responders are not harmed by further misguided mandates” Fitzpatrick said in a press release.
Advertisements
The expectation is the new regulations will go into effect “shortly” and “are intended to provide timely guidance for the volunteer emergency responder community” the department said.
“While this clarification provides much needed direction for local municipalities and fire departments, President Obama’s health care law remains a confusing tower of taxes and red tape. To that end, I will continue to work toward common sense health care reforms that put Americans back in control of their care while addressing the shortcomings of the system,” Fitzpatrick said.
Advertisements
