Over the years the disability rights movement has explored ways to increase incentives for people with disabilities to go to work.  The primary disincentive to going to work for many people with significant disabilities that require personal assistance services is that they will have to cover the cost of those services if they make too much money.

In our effort to be fair and equitable in developing proposals we simply can't land on a solution that meets the needs of all people with disabilities.

In this age of tax cuts over federal expenditures, I propose that the National Council on Disability encourage Congress to allow the IRS to establish tax cuts for people with disabilities who bear high costs in meeting disability related expenses that are not covered by insurance or any other program.

The program could be available to people with disabilities whose disability related expenses are as follows:

• $10,000 or more 5% taxable income rate
• $5,001-$10,000 7.5% taxable income rate
• $5,000 or less 10% taxable income rate

Reducing the tax burden for people with disabilities who go to work and earn enough money to move off of public assistance programs increases the money they have available to cover disability related expenses like personal assistance services, accessible home modifications, or assistive technology, etc.

The program could be run with little bureaucracy.  The qualifying disabilities could be the Social Security "Listing of Impairments."  Applicants for the program would bring the necessary documentation establishing a disability found in the "Listing of Impairments" to an Independent Living Center and the DIP Coordinator would send a DIP certification letter to the IRS.  Since all of the disabilities on the "Listing of Impairments" are expected to last throughout a person's life, the certification would only need to occur once.

Congress would need to add $10 million to existing funding for Independent Living Centers with the stipulation that each center have a DIP Coordinator on staff.

I know this strategy will not meet the needs of everyone with a disability but it provides one more way of increasing work incentives for people with disabilities.