By Andrew Miga
The Associated Press  

AP Photo John Larson.

WASHINGTON — Members of Connecticut's congressional delegation are fighting to get federal support for the local tax breaks many communities give volunteer firefighters and other first responders.

The tax abatements were crafted by communities across the state to attract and keep more volunteer firefighters, emergency medical technicians, ambulance drivers and civil preparedness directors.

In 2002, the IRS ruled the local tax breaks should be treated as income and are subject to federal income tax.

Rep. John Larson, D-Conn., has been pushing to change that and he's hopeful for a breakthrough.

Prospects are "extraordinarily good" that his legislation to safeguard the tax breaks will win House passage, he said.

"It's pretty straightforward and common sense," Larson said. "It's the recognition, look, it wasn't the FBI, the CIA, any branch of the military that was at the World Trade Center or the Pentagon or the fields of Pennsylvania. It was first responders. They were the people going up the stairs as people were coming down."

The House Ways and Means Committee is putting together a package of tax incentives, called the Heroes Earnings Assistance and Relief Tax Act of 2007, to benefit volunteer first responders, veterans and active duty military. Larson said his measure has been included in the broader bill.

The Connecticut General Assembly in 1999 permitted local governments to provide as much as $1,000 in property tax abatements for volunteer first responders such as firefighters, emergency medical technicians and ambulance drivers.

Connecticut communities used the tax breaks to boost the ranks of volunteers providing vital emergency services. South Windsor was one of the first communities in the state to develop a property tax abatement program, a move that increased the ranks of volunteer firefighters, Larson said.

Larson said the IRS ruling hurt volunteer recruitment efforts by many communities, leaving them short-handed.

Many Connecticut towns had to repeal their abatement programs, he said. Other towns abandoned programs they had considered.

A House Ways and Means panel scheduled hearings on the Larson measure recently. John McAuliffe, Connecticut State Director of the National Volunteer Fire Council, testified in support of the proposal.

"The federal government does not provide volunteer first responders with any taxable benefits, but the federal government does tax the benefits provided by state and local units of government," McAuliffe, of Wethersfield, Conn., told the panel.

Connecticut congressmen also have endorsed Larson's bill.

"In the small towns across eastern Connecticut we rely heavily on our volunteer firefighters and EMTs, which is why it is so important to pass this legislation and revive one of the few incentives offered to recruit, retain and reward their lifesaving mission," said Rep. Joe Courtney, D-Conn., in a statement.

"In Connecticut, we rely on our first responders to keep our communities safe from everything, from terror threats to flooding and fires," Rep. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., said in a statement. "Especially important are the thousands of volunteer first responders in Connecticut who balance both full-time jobs and their roles in protecting our communities."

Courtney, who served as town attorney for Vernon, Conn., said the town council began considering plans for a tax abatement program for its volunteer firefighters, but dropped the idea after the IRS ruling.

"The very least we can do is make it just a little easier for them to pay their bills as they continue to serve," he said.