Posted on Jan 23, 2016
Should Gold Star Families (the spouse or parents) continue to pay State and Federal Taxes, or have they already sacrified enough?
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After reading the benefits of Gold Star Families, I was surprised to find that some of their survivor benefits are taxed. In fact, I believe that the survivors of a Soldier sacrificed enough for the Nation, and should be exempt from State or National Taxes completely and permanently. I would like to see this implemented as a policy in the future and would like your opinion.
Posted in these groups: 
Gold Star Families
Taxes
Gold Star Families Taxes
Posted 9 y ago
Responses: 10
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Taxation is unrelated to the sacrifice.
Though I am generally opposed to Uncle Sam getting his beak wetter than it needs to be, I don't feel we need to make any one class of Citizen more special than another, either penalized, or rewarded.
Though I am generally opposed to Uncle Sam getting his beak wetter than it needs to be, I don't feel we need to make any one class of Citizen more special than another, either penalized, or rewarded.
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Sgt Jay Jones
Sgt. Aaron Kennedy, I have to respectfully disagree with you. You are talking about families who have made the ultimate sacrifice. This is a "permanent" sacrifice. It can not be undone. Veterans who file and receive disability payments are not taxed, so why shouldn't the families of those who made the ultimate sacrifice taxed?
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Sgt Aaron Kennedy, MS
Sgt Jay Jones - We're talking about different things.
The "Disability Benefits" Veterans receive are not taxable, however Retirement Payments are, as are normal Pay.
But when we get into "Families should not be taxed" that is a VERY big category. We're not just talking about Moneys from the Government. We're talking about moneys they earn on their own, in perpetuity.
As 1SG (Join to see) says, the definition of family gets VERY complex. Are we talking Parents, Spouses, Children? For how long? Only on Active Duty? Only during "Declared War?" What about in Training? What about Conflicts?
Taxation and Sacrifice are not interlinked concepts, and we should not try to make them interlinked concepts. One has nothing to do with the other. Just because we don't tax one specific type of benefit doesn't justify not taxing other things.
The "Disability Benefits" Veterans receive are not taxable, however Retirement Payments are, as are normal Pay.
But when we get into "Families should not be taxed" that is a VERY big category. We're not just talking about Moneys from the Government. We're talking about moneys they earn on their own, in perpetuity.
As 1SG (Join to see) says, the definition of family gets VERY complex. Are we talking Parents, Spouses, Children? For how long? Only on Active Duty? Only during "Declared War?" What about in Training? What about Conflicts?
Taxation and Sacrifice are not interlinked concepts, and we should not try to make them interlinked concepts. One has nothing to do with the other. Just because we don't tax one specific type of benefit doesn't justify not taxing other things.
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MAJ (Join to see)
Don't tax them on benefits but tax them on all other sources of income that would normally be taxed, at the normal rate.
Don't tax them on benefits but tax them on all other sources of income that would normally be taxed, at the normal rate.
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Death benefits are generally not taxable, including all of the big ones - SGLI, Death Gratuity, Burial benefits.
I think in order for your idea to get traction, you'd need to solve two compelling issues:
1. What is the definition of a "survivor"? Spouse and children? This would get pretty big, pretty fast in the event of a significant conflict.
2. A program such as this would be a very tempting target for fraud. How does one establish paternity for a deceased father? Logically, when it came to tax preparation season, there'd be either box to check on the 1040 or some kind of worksheet where the deceased's SSN would be used to validate the claim. A very tempting target for fraud unless some pretty robust protections are built in.
I think in order for your idea to get traction, you'd need to solve two compelling issues:
1. What is the definition of a "survivor"? Spouse and children? This would get pretty big, pretty fast in the event of a significant conflict.
2. A program such as this would be a very tempting target for fraud. How does one establish paternity for a deceased father? Logically, when it came to tax preparation season, there'd be either box to check on the 1040 or some kind of worksheet where the deceased's SSN would be used to validate the claim. A very tempting target for fraud unless some pretty robust protections are built in.
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