
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, July 1, 1994                   TAG: 9407010104
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B3   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: RICHMOND                                 LENGTH: Short

TAX BREAK PROPOSED FOR PENSIONERS

Federal retirees who get refunds of state taxes they paid illegally would not have to pay federal income taxes on the money under a bill introduced Thursday by two Virginia members of Congress.

U.S. Sen. Charles Robb and Rep. Leslie L. Byrne, D-Fairfax, both Democrats facing re-election fights this year, announced the bill at a Washington, D.C., news conference.

The bill would cover federal retirees who get pension tax refunds in 1995 or beyond. About 186,000 federal retirees in Virginia would be affected.

The Virginia General Assembly meets Wednesday to consider a proposed $340 million settlement with the retirees, who have been seeking refunds since the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 1989 that states could not tax the pensions of federal retirees while exempting state and local government retirees from taxation.

Memo: longer version ran in the State edition

by CNB