Sponsored by:
Senator JOSEPH F. VITALE
District 19 (Middlesex)
Senator DAWN MARIE ADDIEGO
District 8 (Atlantic, Burlington and Camden)
SYNOPSIS
Provides a gross income tax credit for birth resulting in stillbirth.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act providing a gross income tax credit for a birth resulting in stillbirth, 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. A taxpayer shall be allowed a credit against the tax otherwise due under the “New Jersey Gross Income Tax Act,” N.J.S.54A:1-1 et seq., in an amount equal to $2,000 for a birth during the taxable year for which a Certificate Of Birth Resulting In Stillbirth has been issued by the State Registrar pursuant to the provisions of P.L.2003, c.312 (C.26:8-37) if the stillborn child would have been a dependent of the taxpayer as defined by section 152 of the federal Internal Revenue Code (26 U.S.C. s.152).
b. The amount of the credit allowed pursuant to this section shall be applied against the tax otherwise due under N.J.S.54A:1-1 et seq., after all other credits and payments. If the credit exceeds the amount of tax otherwise due, that amount of excess shall be an overpayment for the purposes of N.J.S.54A:9-7; provided however, that subsection (f) of N.J.S.54A:9-7 shall not apply.
2. This act shall take effect immediately and apply to taxable years beginning on or after the January 1 next following enactment.
STATEMENT
This bill provides a gross income tax credit for a taxpayer that has experienced a birth that results in a stillbirth during the taxable year. The amount of the refundable credit is $2,000.
For a taxpayer to claim a credit for a particular birth resulting in stillbirth, the bill requires that: 1) A Certificate Of Birth Resulting In Stillbirth have been issued by the State Registrar, following submission of a completed Form RE-68 “Request to Place on File a Certificate of Birth Resulting in Stillbirth” by the parents of the stillborn child or a licensed health care professional; and 2) The stillborn child would have been a dependent of the taxpayer for federal income tax purposes.
In 2013, the latest year for which data are available, there were 622 stillbirths in the State of New Jersey. Estimates indicate that there are as many as 26,000 stillbirths nationwide each year.
This bill is intended to help offset the considerable financial costs that parents of a stillborn child face including expenses for funeral services, grief counseling, unpaid medical expenses, and the myriad expenses incurred in preparing for the birth of a child.