New Law Gives Tax Exemption To Families Of Killed Service Members

Governor Scott Walker has signed a bill that gives an income tax exemption to families of servicemen and women who die in a combat zone.

The new law changes a state tax statute that held the families of slain soldiers responsible for state income taxes left unpaid after death. The bill forgives such tax bills for the year or a soldier’s death, as well as the year before. At a signing ceremony in front of a war memorial in Mayville, the governor said he hopes no family will ever need the benefit of the law.

Walker: “My hope is that we don’t lose another soldier from Wisconsin going forward. We want to make sure that we let our veterans and in particularly the surviving members of those veterans that paid the ultimate sacrifices, know that we are doing everything in our power to support them. This is not a red bill or a blue bill – this is a red, white and blue bill”

The bill was the brainchild of the Andrew Johnson of Mayville, whose son David was killed while serving in Afghanistan in January of 2012. Andrew Johnson lobbied to change the law when his family was faced with their son’s unpaid tax bill.