Tax court excludes back pay received for age discrimination.
March 1994 Tax court excludes back pay received for age discrimination. The Tax Court reconsidered a previous judgment and came up with the conclusion that damages such as back pay received as a result of age discrimination are excludable. After deliberating on 'Downey v. Commissioner,' the court opined that damages collected under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act can be considered as 'tort-like personal injury damages. The decision is a landmark victory as the Supreme Court judged in 'Burke' that back pay received under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which outlaws discrimination in employment based on race, sex, religion and national origin, is taxable. The Tax Court ruled in Downey I that all damages were excludable because the violation of discrimination statues is a tort, not a breach of contract, though back pay is one of the remedies.