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Exonerees won't pay taxes on state awards

Thanks to a new IRS ruling, exonerees who receive compensation from the state won't pay federal taxes on their awards. Reports NPR:Some former inmates who were wrongly convicted say they feel twice cheated ? first for being imprisoned and then again when the government that locked them up taxed them on the money they were paid to make amends.A recent Internal Revenue Service decision, however, means the federal government will no longer collect income tax on that money, allowing exonerated ex-inmates nationwide to keep payments meant to compensate them for their time in prison.Texas attorney Kevin Glasheen, who represents a group of inmates exonerated by DNA evidence, said the government had been "giving with one hand and taking away with the other...continue to full post

Full post as published by Grits for Breakfast on November 17, 2010 (boomark / email).