Sponsored by:
Assemblyman WAYNE P. DEANGELO
District 14 (Mercer and Middlesex)
Assemblywoman ANNETTE QUIJANO
District 20 (Union)
Assemblyman BOB ANDRZEJCZAK
District 1 (Atlantic, Cape May and Cumberland)
Assemblyman GILBERT "WHIP" L. WILSON
District 5 (Camden and Gloucester)
SYNOPSIS
Enables the collection of voluntary contributions for New Jersey Veterans of Foreign Wars Posts through gross income tax returns.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act enabling the collection of voluntary contributions for New Jersey Veterans of Foreign Wars Posts through gross income tax returns, supplementing Title 54A of the New Jersey Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. There is established in the Department of the Treasury a special fund to be known as the “Fund for the Support of New Jersey Veterans of Foreign Wars Posts.”
b. A taxpayer shall have the opportunity to indicate on the taxpayer’s New Jersey gross income tax return that a portion of the taxpayer’s tax refund or an enclosed contribution shall be deposited in the Fund for the Support of New Jersey Veterans of Foreign Wars Posts for the operation, maintenance, and repair of New Jersey Veterans of Foreign Wars Posts.
c. Any costs incurred by the Division of Taxation for collection or administration attributable to this section may be deducted from receipts collected pursuant to this section, as determined by the Director of the Division of Budget and Accounting in the Department of the Treasury. The State Treasurer shall deposit the net contributions collected pursuant to this section in the Fund for the Support of New Jersey Veterans of Foreign Wars Posts.
d. The Legislature shall annually appropriate all monies deposited in the Fund for the Support of New Jersey Veterans of Foreign Wars Posts to the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States of America, Department of New Jersey for the operation, maintenance, and repair of New Jersey Veterans of Foreign Wars Posts.
2. This act shall take effect immediately and apply to taxable years beginning on or after the January 1 following the date of enactment.
STATEMENT
The bill enables the collection of voluntary contributions for New Jersey Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Posts through gross income tax returns. The purpose of this bill is to create an additional funding source for the operation, maintenance, and repair of New Jersey VFW Posts.
VFW Posts provide vital support services and social networks for New Jersey’s honored veterans. However, VFW Posts do not just support veterans. Stationed throughout the State, VFW Posts engage in regular community service activities that range from charitable fundraising to food drives.
In the aftermath of the Great Recession and Hurricane Sandy many VFW Posts are having difficulty maintaining full-scale operations and making necessary repairs. This bill aims to ease that difficulty by enabling the collection of voluntary contributions for the operation, maintenance, and repair of New Jersey VFW Posts on gross income tax returns.
To receive the gross income tax return contributions, the bill establishes the Fund for the Support of New Jersey Veterans of Foreign Wars Posts. The fund is scheduled to begin receiving contributions for the first taxable year beginning after the date of enactment. The bill directs that fund deposits are to be annually appropriated to the Veterans of Foreign Wars United States of America, Department of New Jersey for the operation, maintenance, and repair of New Jersey VFW Posts.