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The recent frustrations over the difficulty of getting a tax
deduction for specialty GF foods got me to thinking more about the
subject. I'd personally be a little leery of trying it, especially
without the help if a tax professional, but it's also obvious that
you pretty much have to have some big, uncovered medical expenses or
you have to pay for your own insurance to even take the deduction in
the U.S.

But more basic to me is the question of whether this should even be
allowed as part of the medical deduction. I'm no fan of paying taxes,
but should we pay fewer taxes (and therefore possibly transfer a
higher burden to somebody else) so that we can eat non-essentials
like bread, pie, crackers, cereal, cake, bagels, cookies, GF beer,
pasta, or even xanthan gum? These foods certainly make life more
pleasurable for some, but they are not essential for us to have a
safe, healthy, and delicious diet. In fact, most specialty GF foods
make our diet more unhealthy. Should we give a deduction to
overweight people so they can buy expensive specialty diet foods?
Being overweight (I'm not picking on overweight people -- I am one)
kills many more people annually than does celiac.

Don't get me wrong, if I had enough medical expenses to qualify for
the deduction and if a tax expert assured me it's legal and wouldn't
raise major red flags, I'd take it because it's there. But should it
be?

Richard
Roanoke, Va.

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