CA SR52

Urges the United States Senate to eliminate the "widow's tax," which offsets Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) annuities dollar-for-dollar against Department of Veterans Affairs Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) payments to surviving spouses of fallen service members.

Highlights that the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 changed the "kiddie tax," causing military survivor benefits allocated to children to be taxed at trust/estate rates up to 37% instead of the parent's tax rate, resulting in Gold Star children owing thousands of dollars in back taxes.

References House Resolution 2481, the Gold Star Family Tax Relief Act, which would treat military survivor benefits as earned income rather than unearned income for tax purposes, reducing the tax burden on approximately 67,000 Gold Star Families currently losing about $12,000 annually to the offset.

Directs the California Senate to transmit copies of this resolution to the President, Vice President, Speaker of the House, Senate Majority Leader, and all California representatives in Congress.