Lawmaker presses for federal tax holiday for frontline coronavirus 'heroes'

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Health care workers and first responders would get a break from paying federal taxes under new legislation designed to thank frontline workers who are putting their lives on the line responding to the coronavirus pandemic.

Rep. Bill Huizenga, R-Mich., will introduce the Helping Emergency Responders Overcome Emergency Situations (HEROES) Act of 2020 on Friday that would provide a four-month federal income tax holiday for frontline workers in counties with at least one positive COVID-19 patient.

The legislation is modeled after the federal tax holiday provided to members of the military deployed to combat zones and would extend first responders and healthcare workers a similar financial benefit while serving in the battle against the pandemic.

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"If this really is a war that we're in, let's treat it like that," said Huizenga, whose home state of Michigan has become a coronavirus hotspot. "Let's give those men and women that are on the front lines ... the full support of the federal government. This is a small way of saying thank you for their work at this critical time."

In this Sept. 19, 2015, file photo, Rep. Bill Huizenga, R-Mich., is seen during a congressional panel at the 2016 Mackinac Republican Leadership Conference in Mackinac Island, Mich. (AP)

Huizenga expects the legislation would get wide support when the House is scheduled to return to Washington on April 20. The conservative politician envisions the legislation passing as a standalone bill or as part of the broader fourth pandemic response package that Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., is developing.

The idea of giving frontline workers more money has bipartisan support, although the mechanism of delivery may vary. Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., has proposed the federal government giving hazard pay for the nurses, doctors and other pandemic first responders. But Huizenga said his approach of a tax holiday would have the same effect of a financial bonus but without creating extra bureaucracy.

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Health care workers have been under unbelievable stress during the pandemic, caring for the sick without proper personal protective gear or supplies and putting their health at grave risk. Despite the added anxiety of the pandemic and grappling with isolation from families, doctors have even had to take pay cuts.

"These are really the people that are on the front lines," Huizenga said. "They're in a combat zone."

The legislation calls for at least four months of no federal tax withholdings, but would give Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin the power to extend the holiday for three additional months. The tax holiday would apply to all income up to $150,000 annually. Any income earned over $150,000 annually would be taxed at the normal rate.

The benefit would apply to doctors, nurses, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, hospital/medical facility support staff, EMTs, paramedics, pharmacists, firefighters, law enforcement officers, nursing home staff and corrections officers during the coronavirus outbreak.