The tax information is addressed to the PARENTS of a child who is kidnapped.
It's not for the people who did the kidnapping.
You read it wrong.
By "claiming a kidnapped child", it means "your child who has been kidnapped".
If your kid gets kidnapped and a couple months later it's tax time, you can file your kid as a dependent like you normally would.
Why would there be a provision for a kidnapper to file his victim as a dependent on his tax return? If that were the case, we'd all kidnap on a regular basis for the tax benefits. We'd have sacks of spare children just in case one up and died. Or turned 18.
__________________
|