Providing for Firefighter and Emergency Medical Service Provider Recruitment and Retention Tax Credit.
Summary
HB1672 would amend Pennsylvania’s Tax Reform Code to create a new personal income tax credit for active, paid or volunteer firefighters and emergency medical service providers. The credit is titled the Firefighter and Emergency Medical Service Provider Recruitment and Retention Tax Credit and is intended to encourage people to enter and remain in these public safety roles.
Under the bill, a qualifying taxpayer could claim a credit of up to $2,500 against Pennsylvania personal income tax liability for wages earned. The credit would be available for the year a person first becomes a qualifying taxpayer and for the next two succeeding tax years, so long as the individual remains employed in a qualifying field. The bill applies to individuals who become eligible after December 31, 2025, and before January 1, 2029, and the Department of Revenue would be responsible for issuing guidance and any necessary regulations. The department’s authority to issue credits would expire December 31, 2031.
Impact
The bill would add a new Article XIX-L to the Tax Reform Code of 1971 and create a targeted tax benefit for firefighters and emergency medical service providers, including volunteer and career personnel. It would affect individual Pennsylvania income taxpayers in these occupations by reducing their state tax liability, while also imposing administrative duties on the Department of Revenue to verify eligibility and administer the credit. The credit could not be carried forward, carried back, sold, assigned, or transferred.
Sentiment
Based on the bill text and the absence of recorded committee debate or votes in the provided materials, the measure appears to be framed as a supportive recruitment-and-retention incentive for first responders. The sponsorship list suggests bipartisan or broad interest in helping fire and EMS staffing, but there is no documented floor or committee sentiment in the supplied record. Overall, the bill’s tone is affirmative and policy-oriented, aimed at addressing workforce shortages in emergency services.
Contention
No specific objections or amendments are reflected in the provided transcripts or voting history, so there is no documented contention in the record supplied here. Potential points of debate, if raised later, would likely center on the cost of the credit to the Commonwealth, how eligibility is verified for paid versus volunteer responders, and whether a tax credit is the most effective way to improve recruitment and retention. Another possible issue is the limited window for eligibility and the sunset of the department’s authority in 2031.
In tax credit and tax benefit administration, further providing for definitions; and providing for Pennsylvania Individual Recruitment and Retention Tax Credit.
In tax credit and tax benefit administration, further providing for definitions; providing for volunteer certified emergency medical technician and volunteer firefighter tax credit; and imposing duties on the Department of Revenue.