The Ottoman empire and my taxes
April 7th, 2006
I did my tax return last night, using the well-designed, online TurboTax from Intuit. The one mystery to me was a screen that asked whether I was a beneficiary of the Ottoman Turkish Empire settlements.
Since we’re a long way from the collapse of the Ottoman Empire in the aftermath of World War I, what on earth was this about? Of course, a Google search for “Ottoman empire tax California” provided a helpful answer: “In 1999, a class action suit against New York Life Insurance company was filed by the descendents of those that survived the unfortunate events of 1915 under the rule of the Ottoman Empire during WWI. The company was sued specifically for not being forthcoming in paying up for policies of those killed in mutual massacres. The suit was settled in 2004 for $20 million, and payouts began to individuals and some Armenian charitable organizations.”
April 13th, 2006 at 9:07 am
Thanks for the info! I did my taxes last night and my google search lead me here
April 14th, 2006 at 12:54 am
[...] This. I was working on my taxes using TurboTax online, and I was just about finished. As I was checking to see if I was eligible for more deductions, I noticed what I thought was a joke - an available deduction to Californian families affected by “Ottoman Turkish Empire Settlement Payments.” Apparently, I am not the only person who was surprised by this, (this person too) but I am baffled that everyone I know in California did not collectively go WTF!? when they came across this deduction. I mean, this raises a bunch of questions to me - are people finally coming to grips with and publicising Turkish genocidal atrocities of the past (and present)? Does this only apply to rich Armenians in Glendale? Is this all due to the popularity of “System of a Down?” What about the Kurds in Turkey now? What about reparations to other Californians affected by strife? African Americans? Farmworkers? Philipinos? Palestinians? I mean what does this tax deduction mean? [...]
March 4th, 2008 at 6:28 pm
this is too funny! i also wondered what the heck this deduction was. thanks for doing the research!