- 5 - default, regardless of the percentage of support furnished by each parent. Petitioner’s claim is without merit. All deductions, including dependency exemptions, are allowed as a matter of legislative grace. New Colonial Ice Co. v. Helvering, 292 U.S. 435, 440 (1934). Congress has the power to condition, limit, or deny deductions in arriving at the net income it chooses to tax. Helvering v. Indep. Life. Ins. Co., 292 U.S. 371, 381 (1934). Congress may make distinctions among taxpayers as long as they are not arbitrary or capricious. Hamilton v. Commissioner, 68 T.C. 603, 608 (1977). The 14th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States does not apply to Federal statutes. Labay v. Commissioner, 55 T.C. 6, 14 (1970), affd. 450 F.2d 280 (5th Cir. 1971); Cole v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 1975-144. With regard to Federal statutes, the Due Process Clause of the 5th Amendment embraces the principles of the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment. Johnson v. Robison, 415 U.S. 361, 364-365 n.4 (1974); Caputi v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 2004-283. Under the Fifth Amendment, a statutory classification generally is valid if it bears a rational relation to a legitimate Government interest and it does not implicate a suspect classification or interfere with a fundamental right, and legislatures have especially broad latitude in creating classifications and distinctions in tax statutes. Regan v. Taxation With Representation of Wash., 461Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 NextLast modified: November 10, 2007