Calls for more tax benefits to Chinese drywall victims; levee plan questioned

A little bit of ‘News in Short’
Miami Herald: more tax benefits for Chinese drywall victims

Scientific tests have shown that toxic China-made drywall installed in homes beginning in 2001 emits harmful gases that corrode copper wiring and other parts of people’s homes. In addition, these gases harm people’s health, making many homes uninhabitable. Homeowners must not be left to shoulder this burden alone…

Although the casualty loss deduction allows victims to deduct the home’s loss of market value from their taxes, the current tax code does not allow them to deduct for the additional living expenses incurred when homeowners must move and live elsewhere to escape toxic drywall emissions.

Levee plans in doubt

Frustration and less-than-kind words were expressed at two state coastal restoration and protection meetings recently because of a letter sent to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers that raised questions about construction-related permits for at least two portions of a long-awaited, massive levee system in Terrebonne Parish.

The letter, dated Aug. 13 and signed by the Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana and the Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation, outlined concerns the environmental groups have voiced for several years about the entire Morganza to the Gulf project, which would cover lower parts of Terrebonne and Lafourche parishes.