A black plume rises over East Palestine, Ohio, as a result of a controlled detonation of a portion of the derailed Norfolk Southern trains Monday, Feb. 6, 2023.WASHINGTON, D. C. - East Palestine residents won’t pay taxes on most of the payments they received from Norfolk Southern after a train derailment spilled toxic chemicals in the community last year.are categorizing most assistance payments and reimbursements as disaster relief that will be exempt from most taxes, U.S. Sen.
“This is a long overdue step – the people of East Palestine should never have had to pay taxes on assistance they needed in the wake of the train derailment,” said a statement from Brown., IRS said that payments to businesses, lost wages, and access payments to property owners to allow for cleanups will not be tax exempt.
Those who have not yet filed their 2023 return don’t need to report qualified disaster relief payments on their tax return, even if reported to them on Form 1099-MISC. It stressed that taxable payments must be reported. Earlier this year, the head of the National Transportation Safety Board said the deliberate burn of rail cars carrying hazardous chemicals wasn’t needed to avoid an explosion because the rail cars were cooling off before they were set on fire. NTSB Chair Jennifer L.