Rep. Staneski Fights for Relief for Gold Star Families

From CT House Republicans: State Rep. Pam Staneski (Milford & Orange) proudly supported a proposal in the House of Representatives to allow towns to provide a property tax exemption to Gold star parents or surviving spouse whose son; daughter; or spouse were killed in action.

This bill SB-918, An Act Concerning a Municipal Option Property Tax Exemption for Gold Star Parents and Spouses allows municipalities, with their legislative body's approval, to provide a property tax exemption to a parent or surviving spouse of a service member killed in action while performing active military duty with the U.S. Armed Forces. A municipality may exempt up to $20,000 or 10% of the property's assessed value.

“Although the number of Gold Star families is small and we hope very rare, the least we can do after these surviving spouses and parents have had to go through the difficulty of losing a military child or spouse in war is give them a little local tax relief,” said Rep. Staneski, who is a daughter of a Navy veteran.

The bill grants municipalities a local option to implement a tax property exemption, for up to $25,000, to Gold Star parents. Gold star parents are those whose son or daughter was killed in a war.

Under the bill, the U.S. Armed Forces would include the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, and Air Force and any reserve component of these branches, including the Connecticut National Guard performing.

The term Gold Star family is a modern reference that comes from the Service Flag. These flags/banners were first flown by families during World War I. The flag included a blue star for every immediate family member serving in the armed forces of the United States, during any period of war or hostilities in which the armed forces of the United States were engaged. If that loved one died, the blue star was replaced by a gold star. This allowed members of the community to know the price that the family had paid in the cause of freedom.

Photo courtesy of CT House Republicans