The Waterbury Democrat., 1945-01-11
YOUR FEDERAL INCOME
 TAX OUR INCOME TAX SYSTEM
No 6

ANVs
 In computing Federal income tax es you are entitled to the benefit of certain credits known as normal tax exemption and surtax exemp- ton. If you use your Withholding Receipt as a return, or if you file a short-form return on Form 104O, the benefit of these exemptions is allowed automatically through the use of a tax table provided by law. If you make long-form return on Form 1040, ou should subtract these exemptions from your net in- come before applying the tax rates.
 Prior to 1914, there was a system of variable personal exemptions and credits for single persons, married persons, and heads of families. Be- ginning in 1944, the status Of head of family" has been abolished for income tax purposes, ending all confusion as to whether a person qualifiesasa' head of family" in computing income tax. and the syS- tenn has been changed so as to Se- cure approximately the same ben efits as before but with 8 standard uniformity in credits that will here after place all taxpayers who are similarly circumstanced substantial ly on a par with each other.
 There is a separate credit Cor ex- emption) for each kind of. tax, a surtax exemption used in comput- ing Surtax, and normal-tax eXemp ton used in computing normal tax. The Surtax exemption is explained in articles No. 2 and in this Se- Ties.
 What is a normal-taX exemption?
 In computing the normal tax on a long form return for 1944, you may treat flat or fixed amount of $500 of your income as not subject to this tax, regardless of your ma rital status, number of dependents, or size of income. This is done by subtracting this amount from your net income as "normal-tax exemption" on line 8, page of Form 1O40 for 1914, in ascertaining the income that is subject to nor- nal tax. If, however, you file your Withholding Receipt as a return and a return and let the collector compute you tax for you by using the tax table. or If you use the tax table in the short-form return on Form 1040, you automatically get the full benefit of this normal tax exemption without having to make the actual subtraction, be- cause an allowance for this credit has been worked into the table itself.
 If husband and wife file com- bined or Joint long form return, their combined normal-tax exemption is $l,O0O ($50O plus $500), except that if one of them has less than $500 adjusted gross income, the com- bined exemption is $500 plus the amount of the smaller adjusted gross income. If the wife has no income, the combined exemption is $500 ($500 plus $O). If they both have income and use the tax table in Q short-form return, in which allowance has been made for only one normal-tax exemption of $500 the benefit of the other exemption must be secured by reducing the tax shown in the table by $l5 6 per cent of $500) or by 3 per cent oi the smaller adjusted gross income if that Is less than $500. Thus, Ii your adjusted gross income is $3,- 600 and your wife's is $400, a total of $4O00, the tax shown in the table is $63l. From this figure you should subtract, as her normal-taH exemption, per cent of $40O, ol SIP, making a correct joint tax lia- bility of $6l9.
 There is no normal-taX exemp- ton allowed with respect to de- pendents.
 Must the normal-tax exemption be prorated for part of the year Il a taxpayer dies during a taxable year beginning in 1944 or later? No under the present law, the full amount of this $500 exemption t allowable in the final return of the decedent for the period from the first day of his last taxable year te the date of his death. The only case in which operation is required is where the taxable year is ter minated by the Commissioner ol Internal Revenue under jeopardy assessment procedure, as where taxpayer has concealed his property and Is attempting to leave tht countrv nuicklv to avoid the pay