Steube's Hurricane Ian tax relief bill passes House of Representatives, heads to Senate
A Hurricane Ian relief bill sponsored by U.S. House Rep. Greg Steube is one step closer to becoming a law.A year after it was introduced, Steube’s Federal Disaster Tax Relief Act passed the House in a Tuesday vote. The bill allows those affected by qualified natural disasters — including Hurricane Ian and recent wildfires, floods and other disasters across the country — to claim damages as losses without itemizing them as tax deductions and excludes compensation for losses in qualified disasters from gross taxpayer income.
Steube, a Republican who represents Florida’s 17th Congressional district, introduced the legislation in March of last year as a relief provision for Floridians still recovering from Hurricane Ian. The bill originally passed the House on Jan. 31 as part of the Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act, which has since stalled in the Senate.
“Floridians in my district are rightly outraged that it has taken Congress more than a year and a half to provide disaster tax relief from Hurricane Ian,” Steube said in a press release. “This truly descends political ideology. It is solely about helping our fellow Americans who have been through some of the toughest events anyone can imagine.”
More: One year after Hurricane Ian, the Suncoast still needs help. Congress must step up.
Steube filed a discharge petition to reintroduce the bill as separate legislation from the larger tax relief package April 30, and the petition reached the required 218 signatures May 15. Discharge petitions move to expel a bill from a Congressional committee and put it up for a vote if the majority of the House signs.
A subsequent vote Tuesday saw the legislation pass 382-7 in the House, which means it will go before the Senate as a standalone bill. The vote marks the third successful public discharge petition in Congressional history.
Without the act, Ian isn’t classified as a qualified disaster, which means only damages that exceed 10% of a taxpayer’s total income are deductible from that income. Labeling Hurricane Ian and other events as qualified disasters would allow those affected to claim damages without having to meet that 10% threshold.
More: One year later, a look at the implications of Hurricane Ian for homeowners | Home Front
Hurricane Ian is classified as Florida’s costliest hurricane and the third-most expensive in U.S. history. Losses totaled more than $112 billion, per a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association report, and the storm left Sarasota County with more than $792 million in unmet housing and infrastructure needs.
Steube was first elected in 2018 and will seek reelection this year. He has continually urged Congress to enact Hurricane Ian tax relief, lobbying the Senate and President Joe Biden to expedite the bill in a press release.
“I hope our colleagues in the Senate will act quickly and that President Biden will recognize the importance of signing my legislation into law,” Steube said.
Contact Herald-Tribune Growth and Development Reporter Heather Bushman at hbushman@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @hmb_1013
This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Steube's Hurricane Ian tax relief bill passes House
