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Michigan Wounded Vet Gets Debt Relief, Increased Income Tax

 Lt. Will Milzarski
Michigan Veterans Affairs Agency

The IRS is asking a wounded veteran from Michigan to pay $62,000 in income taxes on the federal government's cancellation of his student loans.

The Lansing State Journal reports that 1st Lt. Will Milzarski's two tours in Afghanistan left him with a traumatic brain injury, post-traumatic stress disorder and hearing loss.

The federal government canceled $223,000 in student loan debt after deeming him totally and permanently disabled.

But the 47-year-old says the IRS' notice that followed had surprised him.

Michigan State University's Low-Income Tax Clinic has agreed to take on the issue.

A law professor from the clinic says the tax in Milzarski's case isn't logical.

The professor says the IRS rejected an offer to pay a lower amount so the clinic is appealing the decision, which may take months.

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