Long-awaited tax relief for fire victims clears major hurdle with House vote

Story by The Press Democrat.

The long-suffering effort to exempt victims of utility-sparked wildfires from paying federal taxes on compensation for their losses cleared a major hurdle late Wednesday.

“Today is a milestone,” said Jennifer Gray Thompson, a key advocate for the measure, which was approved 357-70 by the U.S. House of Representatives as part of a bipartisan tax deal that included fire victim tax relief.

“Getting it to this step was a two-and-a-half-year, bipartisan, bicameral effort. Plus the countless hours dedicated by wildfire survivors,” said Gray Thompson, who is CEO of After The Fire USA, a nonprofit that helps communities navigate wildfires and their aftermath.

Fire victims spent years advocating and waiting for restitution from Pacific Gas & Electric Co. after its equipment ignited a series of blazes, including the 2017 North Bay firestorms and the 2018 Camp Fire, that devastated Northern California communities.