Georgia Residents Can Claim Embryos As Dependents On Tax Returns, Twitter Users React
In a move that follows the Supreme Court overturning of the landmark abortion-rights case Roe v. Wade, Georgia's revenue department said Monday that taxpayers can list embryos as dependents on tax returns.
In June, Georgia banned any abortion when a “detectable human heartbeat is rational," -- a move that came after Gov. Brian Kemp signed the Living Infants Fairness and Equality Act, or LIFE Act, in 2019. The LIFE Act "defines a 'natural person' as 'any human being including an un-born child.'"
"In light of the June 24, 2022, U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization and the July 20, 2022, 11th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling in Sistersong v. Kemp, the Department will recognize any unborn child with a detectable human heartbeat ... as eligible for the Georgia individual income tax dependent exemption," the Department of Revenue said in a statement.
A heartbeat is usually detectable around six weeks into the pregnancy. The department stated that proper medical documents will need to be provided to support the dependent deduction.
“The taxpayer may claim a dependent personal exemption … in the amount of $3,000.00 for each unborn child,” the statement added.
Such laws open up many legal questions.
In July, a Texas woman claimed that she should be allowed to drive in the carpool lane because of her unborn baby. She was pulled over and given a ticket because police said that they could not honor that.
New guidance seems to indicate anyone who can claim parentage to an embryo can get a tax break(?). Easy for opposite-sex married parents… but what about a father who has no relationship to mom? What if paternity is uncertain? What about surrogacy? #gapol https://t.co/DadSm8iNCW
— Anthony Michael Kreis (@AnthonyMKreis) August 1, 2022
And given how high the percentage of pregnancies that result in natural miscarriages, the treasury is going to be handing out a lot of cash for pregnancies that would never come to term. (That might be good public health policy though it may be a lot more money than anticipated.)
— Anthony Michael Kreis (@AnthonyMKreis) August 1, 2022
Do you claim twin embryos twice as tax dependants in Georgia?
— _MrNarwhal_ (@Mrnarwhal93) August 2, 2022
I guess embryos can also count as a passenger in the HOV lanes. Win? _
— Scott Hughes (@scotthughes1234) August 2, 2022
Georgia Will Allow People to Claim an Embryo as a Dependent on Their Taxes and, No, That’s Not a Joke https://t.co/ntJwoFc7yq via @VanityFair
SMH
— _Schuylerocks_ (@schuylerocks) August 2, 2022
Beyond stupid.
Also are frozen embryos part of this? Because I know many ppl with frozen ones just waiting for their tax day.
Georgia Will Allow People to Claim an Embryo as a Dependent on Their Taxes and, No, That’s Not a Joke https://t.co/QCORkpGZ8m via @VanityFair
So what happens when you claim your fetus as a dependent and then miscarry later in the pregnancy, you get investigated both for tax fraud and an illegal abortion?
— Lauren Groh-Wargo (@gwlauren) August 2, 2022
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