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Veterans describe housing barriers: taxes, income rules and debt exclude some from services
Summary
Veterans at the hearing said property taxes, retirement income taxation and rigid income-based eligibility rules for assistance programs exclude some veterans from housing support; speakers urged policy changes to consider debt and other barriers.
Veterans and advocates told lawmakers that housing and homelessness remain urgent concerns and that current program rules and state tax policies create barriers to obtaining stable housing.
Felicia Ward, a U.S. Army veteran, said income thresholds for state and federal housing programs can disqualify veterans whose debt-to-income ratios make housing unaffordable. ‘‘If you make too much money, you don't qualify for anything,’’ Ward said, adding that debt is often not accounted for in eligibility calculations.
Several witnesses also criticized Vermont’s tax treatment of veterans’ retirement income and property taxes as factors that drive veterans to leave the state when they retire. ‘‘Military retirement is disposable income. Money that stays in Vermont and is spent in Vermont,’’ said Matthew Fitzgerald, who testified about veterans moving out of the state because of tax and cost-of-living pressures. Fitzgerald and others called for policy changes to lower barriers to homeownership and to consider debt in eligibility determinations for programs such as SSVF (Supportive Services for Veteran Families).
The hearing did not produce formal committee action; participants urged lawmakers to review program rules, tax policy and supports for veterans with disabilities and complex financial situations.
