Freed Hostages Thought the Nightmare Was Over – Then the IRS Came for Them!

When Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich finally returned to the United States after enduring wrongful imprisonment in a Russian jail, the joy of his reunion was bittersweet. His family, along with President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, warmly welcomed him back. But waiting on the sidelines was another, less heartwarming visitor—the Internal Revenue Service, demanding a hefty tax bill.

Gershkovich wasn’t the only one facing financial troubles after his release. Paul Whelan and Vladimir Kara-Murza, who were also held as hostages by Russia, returned home to not just the emotional scars of their detention but a tangle of financial complications. Their time in captivity left them unable to manage their bills, leading to severe financial consequences.

As Emma Camp from *Reason* reported, the trio experienced significant hits to their credit reports. Unpaid bills, coupled with fines and late fees from the IRS, only compounded their post-detention struggles. Unfortunately, this is a recurring theme for many Americans who return home after being held hostage abroad.

Jason Rezaian, a reporter from the *Washington Post* who was held hostage in Iran for 544 days, faced a similar fate. He recounted to NPR how he received a $6,000 bill in late fees and interest for the taxes he couldn’t file while in captivity. Despite intervention by the State Department, which helped suspend part of the charges, the fees swelled to $22,000. In the end, Rezaian was still responsible for paying the original $6,000.

The IRS has acknowledged this issue but noted that while it can reduce some fines, it lacks the authority to fully waive interest and penalties under current federal law. The agency’s hands are tied, leaving returning hostages like Gershkovich, Whelan, and Kara-Murza burdened with unexpected financial woes on top of their personal recovery.

However, there’s a glimmer of hope for future cases. Senator Chris Coons (D-DE) met with the three former hostages and felt compelled to take action. He teamed up with Senator Mike Rounds (R-SD) to co-sponsor a bill aimed at addressing this specific problem. The “Stop Tax Penalties on American Hostages Act” has already passed the Senate with unanimous support. Now, the bill awaits action in the House of Representatives, where it has bipartisan backing but still needs Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) to bring it to the floor for a vote.

Senator Coons has been vocal about his support for the bill. In an op-ed for *The Wall Street Journal*, he urged lawmakers to back not only the Stop Tax Penalties on American Hostages Act but also other legislation that could help hostages rebuild their financial stability. This includes bills that would protect their credit scores, which often suffer when they’re unable to pay their mortgages, car loans, or credit card bills while detained. Another proposal would allow for recalculating their Social Security benefits so they aren’t penalized for missing work and payroll contributions during their wrongful imprisonment.

“Americans held hostage or wrongfully detained shouldn’t be treated like tax cheats,” wrote Coons, stressing the need for these reforms, which he described as “badly overdue.”

As the U.S. government continues to work toward securing the release of Americans wrongfully detained abroad, these legislative efforts offer a crucial safeguard for hostages. No one should return home after such harrowing experiences only to be further punished by a financial system that fails to recognize their unique circumstances. While emotional healing may take time, these bills offer a necessary step toward easing the burden on those who have already suffered enough.