Veterans and Military Personnel Fairness Act of 2003

Bill: 108-s-19
Sponsor: Sen. Daschle, Thomas A. [D-SD]
Introduced: 2003-01-07 in the Senate
Policy area: Taxation
Subjects: Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations
Agriculture and Food
Annuities
Appropriations
Armed Forces and National Security
Armed forces abroad
Armed forces reserves
Capital gains tax
Citizenship
Congress
Congressional oversight
Congressional reporting requirements
Construction costs
Day care
Department of Commerce
Department of Health and Human Services
Disabled
Drugs
Economics and Public Finance
Expatriation
Families
Federal budgets
Federal employees
Finance and Financial Sector
Gifts
Government Operations and Politics
Government spending reductions
Health
Home ownership
Housing and Community Development
Housing finance
Immigration
Income tax
Indexing (Economic policy)
Individual retirement accounts
Interest
International Affairs
Labor and Employment
Law
Legislation
Marine and coastal resources, fisheries
Medical economics
Military dependents
Military operations
Military pensions
Military personnel
Military training
National Guard
Pharmacies
Public health personnel
Real estate appraisal
Repatriation
Social Welfare
Social security taxes
Survivors' benefits
Tax administration
Tax deferral
Tax evasion
Tax exclusion
Tax returns
Tax treaties
Tax-deferred compensation plans
Tax-exempt organizations
Transportation and Public Works
Travel costs
Trusts and trustees
User charges
Valuation
Veterans' disability compensation
Veterans' hospitals
Veterans' medical care
Veterans' organizations
Visas

Summary:
action_date: 2003-01-07
text: Veterans and Military Personnel Fairness Act of 2003 - Removes, for months beginning on or after October 1, 2003, the requirement that qualifying offsetting legislation be enacted before a member or former member of the armed forces may be paid military retired pay and veterans' disability compensation concurrently without deduction.
Repeals, as of such date, a special compensation program for certain severely disabled military retirees.
Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to: (1) make available to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs for programs, functions, and activities of the Veterans Health Administration for FY 2005 120 percent of the amount obligated during FY 2003; and (2) adjust the amount provided after FY 2005 based on the number of enrolled veterans and the number of others eligible for and provided care and the percentage increase in the Consumer Price Index.
Armed Forces Tax Fairness Act of 2003 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from gross income as a qualified military benefit the amount of the death gratuity payable under chapter 75 of title 10 of the United States Code, effective with respect to deaths occurring after September 10, 2001.
Authorizes a member of the uniformed services or the Foreign Service serving on "qualified official extended duty" to extend for ten years the five-year period utilized in determining full exclusion of gain from the sale of a principal residence.
Exempts amounts received under the Homeowners Assistance Program from: (1) inclusion as gross income; and (2) consideration as wages for Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA) tax purposes (including Medicare).
Extends combat zone filing rules to contingency operations.
Provides a deduction for itemizers and non-itemizers for unreimbursed overnight travel, meals, and lodging expenses of National Guard and Reserve members who must travel as part of their official duties.
States that all property of a "covered expatriate" shall be treated as sold on the day before the "expatriation date" for its fair market value.
Permits an individual to make an irrevocable decision to be taxed as a U.S. citizen with respect to all property otherwise covered by the expatriation provisions.
Excludes certain U.S. real property interests from the provisions of this Act. Subjects retirement plans to the provisions of this Act.
Includes in a recipient's gross income the value of property received by gift or bequest from a covered expatriate, with exceptions.
Establishes IRS service user fee authority through September 30, 2012.
Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to deny a former citizen reentry into the United States for noncompliance with the provisions of this Act. (Current law denies reentry based upon tax-motivated expatriation.)

Legislative actions:
action_date: 2003-01-07
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
action_date: 2003-01-07
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR 1/9/2003 S134)
action_date: 2003-01-07
text: Introduced in Senate