Source: "Sex Change Surgery, Expenses Are Tax Deductible, Tax Court Rules"
Video Source: "Sex Change Operation as Tax Deductions?"
Now I've picked a couple of takes on the same issue, but with a purpose... Arianna Huffington is fairly liberal, whereas Fox News is normally conservative, and at the least the discussion in the video has Sandy Rios a strong right winger arguing against the Tax Court's decision.
The real deal is this: Gender Identity Disorder is a real condition. After lots of time with doctors and councilors, it may be determined sex reassignment surgery is necessary. Now one argument against the decision is that it'll lead to an influx of people wanting to deduct their cosmetic surgeries, such as nose jobs, breast implants, etc. This argument however stems from the assumption that gender reassignment is also cosmetic.
Is it?
Not in my humble opinion. Although the basis for gender identity is indeed rooted in the idea that you are Male or Female -despite- the genitalia you're born with, the fact that you may have the WRONG genitalia is a problem for many suffering from gender identity disorder. True one may argue that they just HAVE to have their nose job or they'll be SO depressed. Well for those I must remind them that many states determine gender based on physical genitalia. You won't be denied a marriage license because your nose is too pointy, but you may indeed if your "wife" is technically a man. Or perhaps you're arrested and placed in the wrong general population. Gender Identity Disorder is very real, and cannot always be willed away like Rios suggests. For many it comes down to a surgery that MUST take place, no different than liver transplant or chemotherapy.
Video Source: "Sex Change Operation as Tax Deductions?"
Now I've picked a couple of takes on the same issue, but with a purpose... Arianna Huffington is fairly liberal, whereas Fox News is normally conservative, and at the least the discussion in the video has Sandy Rios a strong right winger arguing against the Tax Court's decision.
The real deal is this: Gender Identity Disorder is a real condition. After lots of time with doctors and councilors, it may be determined sex reassignment surgery is necessary. Now one argument against the decision is that it'll lead to an influx of people wanting to deduct their cosmetic surgeries, such as nose jobs, breast implants, etc. This argument however stems from the assumption that gender reassignment is also cosmetic.
Is it?
Not in my humble opinion. Although the basis for gender identity is indeed rooted in the idea that you are Male or Female -despite- the genitalia you're born with, the fact that you may have the WRONG genitalia is a problem for many suffering from gender identity disorder. True one may argue that they just HAVE to have their nose job or they'll be SO depressed. Well for those I must remind them that many states determine gender based on physical genitalia. You won't be denied a marriage license because your nose is too pointy, but you may indeed if your "wife" is technically a man. Or perhaps you're arrested and placed in the wrong general population. Gender Identity Disorder is very real, and cannot always be willed away like Rios suggests. For many it comes down to a surgery that MUST take place, no different than liver transplant or chemotherapy.