Washington, DC– Today, the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs passed Congresswoman Elise Stefanik’s legislation, H.R. 282, the Military Residency Choice Act. This legislation will give military spouses the choice to establish the same state of residency as the service member, giving them the benefit of keeping the same state of residency for voting and tax purposes. This bill passed the Committee unanimously by voice vote.
“I thank Chairman Roe and the Members of the VA Committee for their work to advance this important legislation,” said Congresswoman Stefanik. “Military families make great sacrifices for the protection of our nation and the safeguarding of our freedom. For instance, military families must relocate every few years due to their spouse’s responsibility to meet the requirements of the military. They sacrifice a great deal during these relocations—uprooting their lives and disrupting their families—all while remaining committed to their duty as the spouse of a service member and serving as the critical support system for their loved ones.
“Current law allows active duty service members to maintain one state of legal residence for tax and voting purposes, even when service members receive military orders requiring them to relocate. Under this law, spouses are only granted the same benefit if the service member and spouse have established the same tax residence at the time of their marriage. Essentially, this requires spouses to establish residency every time the service member receives orders with assignment to a new location—adding undue stress and anxiety to military families already under the pressure of managing their relocation.
“H.R. 282, the Military Residency Choice Act, will give military spouses the choice to establish the same state of residency as the service member, giving them the benefit of keeping the same state of residency for voting and tax purposes.
“Military spouses serve too, and this piece of legislation eliminates the daunting task of documenting multiple tax jurisdictions, which at times causes some spouses to forego the complication of working all together.”
On June 29th, Congresswoman Elise Stefanik testified before the House Veterans’ Affairs Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity on this legislation. Click here for her testimony.
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