98-037
Response
May 26, 1998
REQUEST
LETTER
March
5, 1998
Dear
Irene Rees:
I am writing to your office in hopes
that there may be some consideration to restore in some way the Disability
Exemption which for 1997 was abolished.
My wife is totally disabled and totally dependent upon me for
everything. She cannot feed herself or go to the toilet or c1ean herself or move herself and is totally bed
bound. Question? Why cannot my wife
qualify for this exemption any more.
What makes a sibling more dependent than my wife?
My
wife is afflicted with Multiple Sclerosis and will remain so till she dies as
there is no cure. Is it the State
Legislatures greed for funds? They have ATTACKED the most helpless of
individuals, those who cannot defend themselves. In essence they have attacked
themselves also. There will be several among them who abolished this exemption
that will either be afflicted themselves (and deservedly so) or their spouse
will be afflicted. Not many brains or
morals.
Is a state so great that hosts an
Olympics and yet not look to the welfare of helpless people and give them a
small economic break? The exemption law I am sure will hurt some people more
than myself who may not be as well off.
I write to you from a moral duty to
others. You yourself must advise some kind of a modification based upon
economic need and income. This would be
fair. You may do as you wish. It is a
Just and Almighty God that sees the vote of everyone who wields public trust
and authority. Utah has shamed itself and hurt some people significantly. For me it is only about $$$$$, this is a
blow to some poor people who have very little.
I will close for now, the Utah
legislature should be nominated for a Mother Teresa Award of some kind, for a
last place finish.
Sincerely,
NAME
May
26, 1998
NAME
ADDRESS
CITY,
STATE ZIP
RE: Advisory
Opinion - Disability Exemption for State Income Taxes
Dear
NAME,
We have received your request for an
advisory opinion concerning the disability exemption for state income taxes that
is found in Utah Code Ann. §59-10-114(2)(f).
You have expressed genuine concern that this exemption was abolished in
1997 as it relates to your wife, who is totally disabled. Please allow us to first explain the
exemption and the role of the Tax Commission
in administering it. Then, we can offer
you a possible route through which to seek a change in its application.
Section 59-10-114(2)(f) allows as a
deduction from taxable income “75% of the amount of the personal exemption, as
defined and calculated in the Internal Revenue Code, for each dependent child
with a disability and adult with a disability who is claimed as a dependent on
a taxpayer's return.” The key word in
this section is “dependent.” According
to Internal Revenue Service guidelines, a spouse is never considered a
dependent for income tax purposes. A
spouse receives a personal exemption on the your tax return, but not a
dependency exemption. The Utah disability
exemption is specific in only applying to dependents; thus, it does not extend
to a spouse.
Because your wife is disabled and the exemption is a disability
exemption, it is understandable that you may have thought the exemption applied
to your wife in the past. However, the
application of the disability exemption under Utah law has not changed for many
years. While the Tax Commission does
audit a certain number of returns each year to discover errors, you may have
claimed the disability exemption in the past without us discovering the
error. Should this have occurred, we
regret not finding the error earlier to avoid the misunderstanding it has
caused you.
As the Tax Commission only
administers the laws that are passed by the Legislature, we do not have the
authority to apply the disability exemption, as it is currently written, to all
persons who are disabled. However, your
state senator and representative do have the authority to propose changes to
laws for the Legislature to consider.
Should you wish to contact them to pursue a change in the law, we have
provided their names and mailing addresses below.
Senator Nathan Tanner Representative Blake D. Chard
6225 Woodland Drive 1940 N. 350 W.
Ogden, UT 84403 Layton, UT 84041
Please contact us if you have any
other questions.
For
the Commission,
Joe B.
Pacheco
Commissioner
^^