Assemblyman Brian Manktelow (R,C,I,Ref-Lyons) was proud to be able to stand with his colleagues in the Assembly to support a new bill (A.7655) which would provide volunteer firefighters and EMS personnel with a state income tax exemption should they meet the requirements. This bill, sponsored by Assemblyman Chris Tague (R,C,I,Ref-Schoharie), aims to help improve the number of volunteers in fire and EMS departments which has been dwindling in years past.

“Not only do these people put their lives on the line every time they answer a call, they do it for free,” said Manktelow. “We give tax exemptions to Hollywood and big corporations, why not people who are donating so much of their time and risking their lives to protect our communities? On average, volunteer firefighters save New York taxpayers $3.7 billion annually. However the number of volunteers in both areas is steadily decreasing. In order to fund fully-paid fire departments alone, we would need to raise property taxes by 26.5 percent. In the long run this small tax exemption to qualifying volunteers will help save a lot more than taxpayer dollars; with more volunteers signing up it could potentially save lives.”