Attorney General Acts To Ensure Thousands Of Disabled State Veterans Receive Deserved Benefits

October 02, 2008 – (RealEstateRama) — Attorney General Richard Blumenthal today, joined by veteran advocates, pledged to aid disabled veterans who may be denied property tax exemptions under a non-existent Oct. 1 deadline, and formally called on the federal Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to correct a damaging computer system problem that may prevent tens of thousands of disabled veterans from obtaining deserved tax benefits.

There is no deadline this year — Oct. 1 or otherwise — so the VA forms may be submitted to tax assessors no matter how late the VA provides them, Blumenthal said.

“The main danger is that disabled veterans may mistakenly believe they have missed a deadline that does not exist,” Blumenthal said. “Another danger is the VA may fail to provide the forms proactively and promptly and instead wait for veterans requests.”

The VA, due to a computer system change several months ago, has said it will no longer mail forms to veterans to verify their disability ratings, which enables such veterans to file for tax relief through their local tax assessors.

Blumenthal said thousands of Connecticut veterans are at risk of not obtaining these vital tax benefits because they are likely unaware that the VA will not proactively provide them with disability ratings forms, as they have for so long.

In a letter to VA Secretary James B. Peake, Blumenthal said the federal government has a moral obligation to correct or overcome its computer system and proactively provide veterans with these necessary forms.

“If veterans can overcome war-inflicted disability, the federal Department of Veterans Affairs can overcome a computer glitch to ensure that vital forms are provided to our veterans,” Blumenthal said. “My office will fight to ensure that veterans are proactively provided their disability ratings forms — as they always were, until now — in order to obtain their tax benefits.

“Veterans may be understandably unaware that they must obtain these disability forms on their own. Eligible veterans who belatedly learn about the VA’s failure to provide them with disability forms may be under the misimpression that they have missed the filing deadline and then miss out on their benefits. We will ensure that all veterans are identified and notified of their rightful benefits.”

Blumenthal said he has been assured by Carolyn Nadeau, president of the Connecticut Association of Assessing Officers — who joined Blumenthal at a press conference today — that assessors in Connecticut are already aware that the law affords flexibility to veterans, enabling them to file their disability ratings beyond the supposed Oct. 1 deadline.