The Eureka sentinel. [volume] (Eureka, Nev.) 1902-current, 1920-01-24
INCOME TAX LAW
POINTS CLEARED
Special Exemptions on Earnings
Granted Unmarried Bread Win
ners-Internal Revenue Collector
Explains Provisions in Filing Re
turns.

year, d. c. Dunbar, collector OF in
ternal revenue has outlined to the
Salt Lake Tribune the most impor-
tant features of the requirements OF
the law. He dwelt especially upon
the portion regarding returns by un-
married men and women. which here
tofore have caused some misunder-
standing.
In explaining the requirements of
the tax, he said: Unmarried men
and women who are bread-winners
for others are granted special exemp-
lions on their earnings before igur-
ing the income tax now being collect
ed. Although a return must be filed
by every unmarried person. and by
every married person living apart
from wife Tor husband), who had a
net income of $1,000 or more during
1919. recognition is made in the law
of the home burdens carried by mil
lions of such persons, and relief from
excessive taxation is especially pro-
vided.
| Exemptions Provided
I'm addition to the ordinary per-
sonal exemption of $1,000, an addi-
| tional exemption of $1,000 is granted
to heads of families and there is
| also provided an exemption of 5000
for each dependent under Is years of
age or who is mentally or physically
defective.
THE $500 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, IL does
not include servants or others who
| are earning their living. And 1t does
not apply to the wife or husband OF
| the married taxpayer, even though
such person may have become a total
burden.
1T should be remembered that the
| person who claims exemption as head
| of a family must qualify for it. Two
single persons who divide between
| them, more or less equally, the fin
| ancial and other responsibilities of a
household cannot claim hat either
one is the head of the family. But
if a single person actually assumes
the total responsibilities of the house
hold 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.
Head Of Family Defined
"A single person is the head of a
family if by December 81 he had be-
come the sole support of close rel
atives Thy blood, marriage, or adOp-
tom living in the same house with
him and looked upon by them to ex-
ercise a greater or less amount of
control in the matters affecting the
support and maintenance of the house.
hold.
1.-THE phrase 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 their support. There may be an
other source of income (such as in
terest on bonds, dividends on stocks,
pension) which, if meager enough to
still leave the recipient dependent,
should not interfere with the claim
for exemption. Such meager income
of dependents, as well as the incon-
s%equential 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.
Division .Invalidates Claim
but a division of responsibility
will in every case exclude the parties
from the claim for the addition OK
emption. Article 302 of regulations
10 QCnHCo that q hCdd VI a lahhAAy 10
"a person who actually supports and
maintains in m household or more
individuals who are closely connected
with him by blood relationship, re-
~lationship by marriage, or by adop-
ton, and whose right to exercise fam
lily control and provide for these de-
/ Il individuals is hasad unon
some moral or legal obligation"
Once the existence Of the fact that
a taxpayer is the principal cause for
the creation or maintenance of q
home is established it cannot be de-
| stroyed by his mere temporary or un-
a~voidable absence from 1t. II a faith
err is left with a young child to whom
he cannot give the proper attention