The Donaldsonville chief., 1920-01-31
THE INCOME TAX.
LIBERAL Interpretation of Law AS it
Affects Heads of Families.

liberal Interpretation of Law AS il
ias Affects Heads of Families.
g Rufus W. Fontenot, collector OF
'internal revenue, issued the following
statement recently in regard to heads
! Of families as classified for income
tax purposes.
I Unmarried men and women who
are bread-winners for others are
granted special exemptions on thei1
; pearnings before figuring the income
tax now being collected. Although
a return must be filed by every un-
married person, and by every married
person living apart from wife Cor
Ashand), who had net income of
$1,000 OF more during 1919, recogni-
ton is made in the law of the home
burdens carried by millions of such
persons, and relief from excessive
taxation is especially provided.
n addition to the ordinary per-
asisR msexemption of $1,000, an addi-
tion~l exemption of $1,000 is granted
to ''heads of families" and there is
also provided an exemption of 5000,
for each depended unnder Is years of
age or who is mentally or physically
| defective.
The 5000 for each dependent may
be claimed by any taxpayer who is
the chief support Of such dependent.
This is not confined to dependents
who are members of the family or
relatives. On the other hand it does
not include servants or others who
are earning their living. And it
does not apply to the wife or hus-
band of the married taxpayer; even
| though such person may have become
a total burden.
! It should be remembered that the
person who claims exemption as
head of family" must qualify for
it. Two single persons who divide
between them, more or less equally,
the financial and other responsible
ties of a household cannot claim that
either one is the head of the family.
But if single person actually as
sumes the total responsibilities of the
household and is aided by having one
of his brothers or sisters support him
self and contributing an amount that
could not practically be considered
more than his board, such trivial cir
cumstances must not be allowed to
interfere with his clear claim for ex-
emption. -.
A single person is the head o. !,
family if by December 81 he had ~
come the sole support of close re ;,
tives (by blood, marriage, or adop1s
tion) living in the same house with
him and locked upon by them to ex,
ercise Jseater or less amount of
control Rr the matters affecting the
support and maintenance Of the
household e
The phase "sole support is here
used in the sense that there is no
other person to whom the dependents
are' looking for a substantial portion
Of II Or support. There may be an
ot~~ef source of income (such as in
terest on bonds, dividends on stocks,
pension) which, if meagre enough to
still leave the recipient dependent,
should not interfere with the claim
for exemption. Such meagre income
OF dependents, as we'll as the incon-
sequential profit on the board Of any
self-supporting member of the house
hold, must however, be included in
the return of the head of the house
hold
But division of responsibility will
IN every case exclude the parties from
the claim for the additional exemp-
ton, Article 302 of regulations As de-
fines that head of family is ga
person who actually supports and
maintains in one household, one or
more individuals who are closely con-
nected with him by blood relationship,
by marriage, or by adop-
tiof, and whose right to exercise
family control and provide for these
dsVa ffnt individuals is based upon
some moral or legal Obligation
Once the existence Of the fact that
a taxpayer is the principal cause for
tho creation or maintenance of a
home is established it cannot be de-
stroyed by his mere temporary or rt1l-
avoldableos absence from it. If a
father isEeft with a young child to
whom he cannot give the proper at
tention himself, and he places this
child with relatives or elsewhere, hel
should still be considered the head xn
a family, even if yet further force &e
circumstances would oblige him "
live elsewhere; provided that he sfffFE sffF ,
exercised fatherly control over the !
well being, education and filial feel
ings Of :he child, and did not fwh;le |
furnishing the support allow the
child to become virtual orphan. If,
however. without necessity, the de-
pendent continuously makes his home
his benefactor is not the
head of a family, irrespective Of the
question of support.