Assemblywoman Kimberly Jean-Pierre (D-Babylon) announced that legislation she introduced to provide income tax relief to people who were forced to withdraw funds from certain retirement accounts to repair their homes from Superstorm Sandy has passed the Assembly (A.6660).

“Long Islanders are survivors,” Jean-Pierre said. “Those affected did everything in their power to rebuild their homes and their lives after Sandy, even if it meant making the difficult decision of taking money from their retirement savings. It’s a choice no one wants to make. This legislation recognizes they were in an impossible situation and helps ease the unfair income tax burdens they face.”

Superstorm Sandy damaged homes and devastated families, who then had to wait for insurance payments and government aid to rebuild. Many needed immediate funding for critical repairs to ensure they had somewhere to live and were forced to pull funds from their retirement accounts early. As a result, their tax burdens skyrocketed.

Jean-Pierre’s legislation allows taxpayers whose primary residence incurred severe damage due to Superstorm Sandy and is located in the presidentially declared disaster zone to subtract the distributions taken from their retirement plans from their federal adjusted gross income.

“We’re still putting the pieces back together,” Jean-Pierre said. “But it’s legislation like this that will help us come back stronger than ever and help Long Island families who’ve struggled all this time.”

Jean-Pierre has been a staunch advocate for victims of Superstorm Sandy throughout her time in the Assembly. In 2015, her legislation to provide tax relief for Long Island homeowners who were forced to repair or rebuild their homes in the wake of Superstorm Sandy and as a result faced higher property taxes was signed into law (Ch. 122 of 2015).