HIA is pleased to announce that Rep. Jim Ryun (R-KS) has just re-introduced a "new and improved" version of his previous legislation to offer a tax credit to individuals for the purchase of hearing aids. As you recall, this initiative was adopted by HIA as one of its key legislative issues for 2003, as a way for HIA to enhance its involvement in public policy issues and thereby protect and ensure continued high quality products for its customers. As a result, HIA staff has been meeting over the last few months with Rep. Ryun's office to discuss various aspects of the bill and the benefits to be gained through additional clarifications and enhancements.
The new version of the "Hearing Aid Assistance Tax Credit Act", H.R. 3103, provides a $500 credit, available once every five years, toward the purchase of a hearing aid. The original bill was modified to lower the minimum age eligibility requirement for senior adults from 65 to 55 and older, in order to broaden the potential range of eligible beneficiaries. Further modifications include allowing the credit to apply on a per hearing aid basis (i.e. $1,000 credit if two hearing aids are required), and also applying the credit on an "individual" basis, thus extending it to more than one family member who may need to purchase a hearing aid within the 5 year period (e.g. a husband and wife, or an adult and his child).
The following summarizes the major provisions of H.R. 3103:
Provides a nonrefundable tax credit of up to $500 per hearing aid, available once every 5 years, towards the purchase of such hearing aid, available to: 1) individuals age 55 and over, or 2) those purchasing a hearing aid for a dependent.
Ensures that the credit is based on individual need for the hearing aid, so that it could be available, if necessary, to more than one family member during the 5-year period.
We are delighted with the expanded scope of H.R. 3103, and look forward to working closely with Rep. Ryun's office and other supporters in the hearing health community to increase awareness as to the extent of the overall problem of hearing loss in this country, and the positive role that hearing aids can have in treating individuals who need this type of assistive technology. We will be contacting each of you in the near future, to enlist your active support as we continue our outreach to increase the number of congressional cosponsors for this small, but important bill.
-------------------------------------------------
515 KING STREET, SUITE 420
ALEXANDRIA, VIRGINIA 22314
PHONE: (703) 684-5744
FAX: (703) 684-6048
www.hearing.org
Rep. Ryun Introduces Expanded Version of Hearing Aid Tax Credit Bill
Share:
