CHEYENNE, Wyo. — U.S. Senators Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) and Alex Padilla (D-CA) introduced the bipartisan “Protect Innocent Victims of Taxation After Fire Act” to provide tax relief for wildfire survivors who have received compensation for losses and damages suffered during a wildfire.
The bill exempts insurance payments to victims of wildfires in Wyoming from federal taxes.
“When a family loses everything in a wildfire, the last thing they should be worried about is setting aside money from insurance to pay taxes,” Lummis via press release. “The Clark Wildfire in Wyoming was a tragic reminder of the indiscriminate destruction wildfires cause and showed just how difficult and costly it can be to rebuild what you have lost. The Protect Innocent Victims of Taxation After Fire Act ensures that every last dollar from wildfire insurance will go to helping families rebuild their lives instead of padding tax coffers in Washington.”
According to Lummis’s Office, in Nov. 2021, the Clark Wildfire killed one woman, burned 300 acres of land and destroyed three homes, seven outbuildings and a bridge. This bill will provide future wildfire survivors with the certainty that their settlement money will not be taxed.
Full text of the bill is available here.
