If a person chooses to have a sex-change operation, it should be between him and his surgeon, with the patient or perhaps his insurer footing the bill if his policy covers that.
But the U.S. Tax Court now says taxpayers must subsidize such surgery.
A 57-year-old Massachusetts man underwent a sex change and tried to deduct it from his taxes as a “medical expense.” He absurdly likened it to heart surgery or an appendectomy, but the IRS sensibly said the procedure was not, in fact, medically necessary. The Tax Court disagreed and ruled the man was entitled to a medical-expense deduction.
That puts taxpayers on the hook for at least part of the bill not only for that individual but for others who choose sex-change surgery.
What’s next? Will the public also have to help pay for elective Botox treatments and liposuction?