Conditions Under Which a Dependent Can File a Joint Return: Is the Current Confusion and Complexity Really Necessary?
本文分析了受抚养人联合申报与豁免扣除相关的问题，追溯了豁免扣除的历史演变，并探讨当前规则的混乱与复杂性是否必要。
Abstract This article analyzes the issue of joint filing as it relates to dependency exemption. The exemption deduction can be considered a charter member of the income tax laws. A "credit" against net income for personal exemptions was part of the Revenue Act of 1913 and existed in the prior Civil War income tax provisions. As enacted in 1913, the exemption amount was $3,000 for a single person and $4,000 for a married person. A $200 exemption for dependent children under 18 years of age was enacted in the Revenue Act of 1917. The Revenue Act of 1918 expanded the dependency exemption to include persons receiving their "chief support" from the taxpayer and who were "incapable of self-support because they were mentally or physically defective." In 1921, the dependency exemption amount was increased to $400, where it remained through 1941. The expansion of the dependency exemption coincided with the introduction of the optional standard deduction and the adjusted gross income concept. These changes came at a time when the federal income tax was being transformed from a tax on the elite to a tax on the masses.