Imagine being held hostage in a foreign land and returning home to America after release only to find the Internal Revenue Service has billed you for thousands of dollars in unpaid taxes, along with late fees, interest, and penalties.

That was the startling reality encountered recently by former hostages Evan Gerhskovich, Paul Whelan, and Vladimir Kara-Murza, who were released from detention in Russia in August, Reason reports. The men reported facing a slew of financial issues upon their return, including tax charges and credit hits resulting from bills they were unable to pay while imprisoned.

“I got one of those bills from the IRS saying, you owe this much on this year, you owe this much on this year because of failure to pay on time — here’s the interest that’s accrued,” a former hostage who is a Washington Post reporter, Jason Rezaian, told NPR. Mr. Rezaian faced more than $6,000 in fees for unpaid taxes following his release after 544 days of detention in Iran. “This is an oversight that nobody really thought about.”

According to NPR, there are currently between 40 and 60 American nationals illegally detained by other nations. Many will likely return to America only to be met with surprising financial penalties tied to their unjust imprisonment.

The IRS asserts that it lacks the legal authority to waive tax fees for returning hostages. However, legislative changes could be on the horizon. Earlier this year, Senator Coons of Delaware introduced the Stop Tax Penalties on American Hostages Act, a bill that would mandate the IRS exempt hostages from tax liability during their detainment.

If passed, Mr. Coons’s bill would address a small but significant flaw in the American tax system. It’s evident that someone detained abroad cannot be expected to manage financial obligations. Former detainees, already grappling with the trauma of being held hostage and the challenging adjustment to normal life, should not be further burdened with hefty fines for taxes they were unable to pay.

The legislation aims to correct this issue, ensuring that those who have endured the harrowing experience of illegal detainment abroad are not further penalized upon their return.