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Brickbats

Brickbat: Dead Again

Charles Oliver | 3.31.2023 4:00 AM


A storefront with the blinds closed, with "SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION" stenciled onto the glass in white letters. | Calvin L. Leake | Dreamstime.com
(Calvin L. Leake | Dreamstime.com)

In 2018, Jaxen Dyson's father died. Despite having only a last name in common with his dad, the Social Security Administration declared Jaxen dead. It took her several months, but Jaxen's mother thought she'd cleared the matter up. She even got a letter from the Social Security Administration saying Jaxen was very much alive. But when she did her taxes last year, the IRS refused to let her claim Jaxen as a dependent because government records show he is dead. It's also refusing to let her claim his this year. The IRS blames the Social Security Administration for the problem, and the Social Security Administration blames the IRS.

Charles Oliver is a contributing editor at Reason.

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