The Law Foundation of Silicon Valley needs your help to ensure that low-income elders, veterans, and people with disabilities benefit from the financial assistance promised by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.
As part of the CARES Act, eligible persons will receive a cash payment of up to $1,200 ($2,400 for those married filing jointly) called a Recovery Rebate. The CARES Act instructs the Treasury to issue Recovery Rebates based on a person’s 2018 or 2019 income tax filing. SSI disability benefits, VA Disability Compensation, and Veterans’ Pension benefits are not taxable. As a result, despite being eligible, people who receive these benefits will not be automatically issued the rebate.
They need additional action by Treasury, SSA, and the VA, to ensure that they will not need to file tax returns to access their Recovery Rebates.
HOW YOU CAN HELP:
People should call the Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121 and ask for your member of Congress, or lookup their congressperson here, and contact them using the information provided on their website.
When you’re connected:
Ask them to sign the letter by Rep DeFazio demanding that SSI and Veteran’s benefits recipients get direct payments of the CARES Act stimulus payments.
If you prefer to write to your congressperson, you can use this sample language:
“I am writing to ask you to sign onto Representative DeFazio’s letter demanding that direct payments of SSI, VA Disability Compensation and Veterans’ Pension benefits get direct payments of the CARES Act stimulus payments.
As part of the CARES Act, eligible persons will receive a cash payment of up to $1,200 ($2,400 for those married filing jointly) called a Recovery Rebate. The CARES Act instructs the Treasury to issue Recovery Rebates based on a person’s 2018 or 2019 income tax filing. SSI disability benefits, VA Disability Compensation, and Veterans’ Pension benefits are not taxable. As a result, despite being eligible, people who receive these benefits will not be automatically issued the rebate. They need additional action by Treasury, SSA, and the VA, to ensure that they will not need to file tax returns to access their Recovery Rebates.
Forcing millions of low-income senior citizens and people with disabilities, many of them veterans, to file tax returns when they are not otherwise required to do so will delay access their recovery rebates and place a huge burden on the providers of disability and low-income tax preparation services. For many, this requirement would pose an insurmountable barrier to accessing this relief. Individuals with disabilities who are medically vulnerable may decide that seeking outside assistance to file taxes is not worth risking exposure to the corona virus. Many people in our community who receive SSI do not have access to the internet or know how to use it. This is particularly true now that our libraries are closed. Those who are unhoused might not have the ability to collect their mail at this time and may not know about the need to file taxes. Individuals with disabilities who are medically vulnerable may decide that seeking outside assistance to file taxes is not worth risking exposure to the coronavirus. Without additional action from the Treasury, SSA and the VA to eliminate people on SSI and VA benefits from having to file taxes, millions of older adults and people with disabilities may not receive the recovery rebates they are legally entitled to and will be unable to use it to meet important needs and stimulate the local and national economies. Please sign onto Rep. DeFazio’s letter to ensure that the CARES Act benefits the most vulnerable members of our community as it was intended to do.”