Governor Glenn Youngkin signed a bill that aims to help Gold Star families.
The HB 957 bill allows local governments to offer tax relief to surviving spouses of service members who died in the line of duty.
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“By taking care of our Gold Star Families, we honor the legacy of our servicemen and women, who gave their lives to protect our freedom,” said Youngkin. “This legislation enables local governments to give something back to families who have sacrificed so much on behalf of this country.”
The bill provides localities with the ability to declare real property owned by the surviving spouse as a separate class of property for taxation purposes.
The spouse cannot be remarried and the service member’s death must be verified by the U.S. Department of Defense.
The tax rate also must be greater than zero and less than the rate on the general class of real property.
It will go into effect on July 1, 2022, for taxable years starting on and after January 1, 2022.