萬國法律事務所

Taiwan’s Constitutional Court issued Interpretation No. 694 declaring that Article 17.1(4) of the Income Tax Act, which limits the age of relatives, who can be declared as dependants by a tax payer, to be under 20 years old or over 60 years old, violates the Constitution.

This Interpretation was triggered by a tax payer claimant who listed certain relatives as dependent on him in order to receive an exemption on his income tax. The Tax Administration rejected the claimant’s exemption declaration because the relatives were not under the age of 20 or over the age of 60.

The Justices of the Constitutional Court opined that this provision would result in tax payers becoming unwilling to support relatives who are between the ages of 20 and 60 and who are unable to earn enough to support themselves. The result of this provision, the Court reasoned, would violate the filial morality encouraged by Taiwanese culture. Furthermore, the Interpretation also indicated that this provision does nothing to increase administrative efficiency but results in a great disadvantage to taxpayers who support relatives. Therefore, the Court declared that the provision violates the equal protection principle and should thus be voided one year after the publication of this Interpretation.