Tax Credits, volunteering, and SBU

Two things I do not want to turn this page into is a political or tax report, but this one really does have strong ties for BonaResponds, so I will at least point it out. It comes from Jerry Moran a congressman from Kansas. In a nutshell he is proposing making it easier/cheaper for firms to allow employees time off with pay to volunteer in the time of a disaster.

McPherson Sentinel's Sentinet - News:

"I[Congressman Jerry Moran] have sponsored legislation to compensate volunteers for their efforts. The Assistance for Individuals Delivering (AID) for America Act creates a federal tax credit for businesses that continue to pay employees while they volunteer in federal disaster zones. In Greensburg, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) reports that more than 1,300 individuals have volunteered since May 4, the day of the deadly tornado. The work of these volunteers totals more than 26,000 hours. This legislation builds upon Kansans spirit of giving by allowing more individuals to take time off of work to volunteer during times of disaster."

While I am not sure what the financeprofessor side of me thinks on this one (I would like to think that such a policy is a positive NPV project even without the tax credit making the tax credit redundant) , I am definitely in favor of it from the position of wanting to make it easier to volunteer. Indeed, there is a proposal already on its way to the SBU board of trustees to enact some version of this at SBU.

I will keep you posted on the progress of both the bill in congress and the proposal at SBU.