Fiocchi Hails IRS Decision Sparing Emergency First-Responders and Property Taxpayers from Obamacare Snag

WASHINGTON, D.C. – January 20, 2014 – (RealEstateRama) — Assembly Republican Sam Fiocchi today commended the Internal Revenue Service for clarifying a requirement under Obamacare that threatened the continued service of volunteer fire and medical first responders.

“The Internal Revenue Service took a look at this and came to the right conclusion. Volunteer firefighters and emergency personnel are just that – volunteers,” said Fiocchi, R – Cape May, Atlantic and Cumberland, who introduced a resolution urging the IRS to exclude volunteer firefighters from designation as employees.

Obamacare requires any employer with 50 or more full-time employees to offer health care coverage to its employees. Regulations proposed by the U.S. Department of Treasury would have included volunteer responder hours in the formula counting toward the 50-employee threshold.

The IRS, however, announced that final regulations will not require volunteer hours of volunteer firefighters and volunteer emergency medical personnel to be counted when determining full-time employees.

“This is one time when the IRS has acted in favor of the taxpayer. I am gratified they made the right decision, the only decision that made any sense,” said Fiocchi. “This is good news for our volunteers who can continue to serve, and for property taxpayers who would have been left holding the bill for one more tax associated with Obamacare.”

“Clarifying that volunteers are not full-time employees salvages the outstanding emergency services our communities have come to expect from the dedicated men and women who risk their own lives for our health, safety and property.”