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For Immediate Release
Contacts:			Click here to return to Press Releases
Dominick Pangallo: (617)722-2575
Email: Dominick@JohnKeenan.org
July 27, 2006

House Approves Tax Relief for Massachusetts Military Families

BOSTON, MA – Thousands of Massachusetts veterans and their families will be eligible for various forms of tax relief thanks to omnibus legislation unanimously approved on Wednesday by the House of Representatives, State Representative John Keenan (D-Salem) announced.

The Massachusetts Military Enhanced Relief Individual Tax (MERIT) Plan honors the memory and bears the name of Edward G. Connolly, a U.S. Army veteran and an eight-term state Representative from Everett who passed away in May.

The legislation, which now heads to the Senate, delivers the following forms of relief to the Commonwealth’s military families:

Increases various property tax exemptions and abatements for veterans;
Grants a $2,500 property tax exemption for eligible surviving spouses of veterans killed in combat or missing in action;
Increases the real estate tax exemption for disabled veterans from $600 to $1,000 and makes the exemption available for surviving spouses of qualifying disabled veterans;
Establishes a new five year 100% property tax exemption for war widows and widowers (Gold Star Spouses);
Gives cities and towns the local option of suspending property tax payments from National Guard members and Reservists who are serving on active duty or their dependants; and
Extends sales and vehicle excise tax exemptions to all veterans who qualify for a Disabled Veterans license plate, as determined by the Registry of Motor Vehicle’s Medical Advisory Board.

“This legislation pays fitting tribute to a colleague who dedicated his life to fighting for the men and women who courageously fight for us,” said Representative Keenan, “The MERIT Plan, coupled with the Welcome Home Bill that became law last November, demonstrates the legislature’s steadfast commitment to the state’s veterans and the benefits they rightly deserve.”

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