The Disability Tax Credit: Exploring Attitudes, Perceptions, and Beliefs About Disability

This article examines the disability tax credit (DTC), one of the few federal programs providing direct funding to persons with disabilities. The goal of the article is to explore the DTC as a window into attitudes, perceptions, and beliefs about disability. This is an important contribution to the literature as disability scholars have shown how societal forces, such as attitudes, perceptions, and beliefs about disability, contribute to disability itself. Through comparing attitudes, perceptions, and beliefs of legislators and judges with the views expressed in the disability literature, the article reveals harmful stereotypes that fail to take into account the diverse realities of those experiencing disability. Further, the article shows a lack of agreement between four groups: disability scholars, legislators, judges, and taxpayers, on issues relating to the meaning of disability and the appropriate policy response to disability. The author contends this disagreement is troublesome as it may impede progressive policymaking and legal clarity. In particular, the evaluation and interpretation of the DTC is hindered by the lack of agreement about whether the DTC is intended to serve as income support for persons with disability (thus, operating as a tax expenditure), or to take into account costs negatively impacting ability to pay (thus, operating as a technical provision.) Further discussion and investigation of the DTC and the broader disability-related questions raised in this article are warranted.