Carmody MacDonald attorney Brad Zimmerman testified with State Rep. Brenda Shields (R-St. Joseph) before the Missouri House Ways and Means Committee on March 11 in support of proposed legislation that would change Missouri’s tax code to benefit the families of 63 first responders to 9/11 Ground Zero from Missouri that have died or incurred serious illness as a result of their service following the terrorrist attacks of September 11, 2001.
Shields filed HB 1771, which would establish the Christopher J. Bosche Memorial Act. The proposed legislation would allow the families of first responders who died from 9/11-related illnesses to receive a refund of their state income taxes paid for the year their loved one died and up to three years prior to their death. The Missouri House Ways and Means Committee held a public hearing on March 11.
“The families of all 63 first responders have incurred a lot of big medical bills they need to pay,” Rep. Shields told the panel during a public hearing on the proposed legislation. “There have been three cancer-related deaths so far, and their families have suffered a lot. It is time that we correct this omission from our tax code.”
“This is the best way to fix what we see as an error in the tax code to take care of these victims of 9/11 in Missouri,” Zimmerman testified. “It seems like a small token of the public’s appreciation for volunteering and sacrificing on that day. And because HB 1771 mirrors changes made to the federal tax code in 2002, this should be relatively easy to implement.”
Dr. Christopher Bosche was 44 when he died on Sept. 12th, 2017. His three-year battle with cancer was linked to exposure to debris while responding to the attacks at Ground Zero. Bosche is one of three first responders from Missouri who have died from illnesses linked to their response to 9/11. Bosche also served as the medical team manager for Missouri Task Force One and the medical director for the Mehlville Fire Protection District. He responded to disasters around the country, including the Joplin tornado.
Zimmerman is an associate at Carmody MacDonald and focuses his practice in the areas of tax, estate planning, real estate and business law.
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