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  • From: Diana Duncan <dianaduncan AT contentdb.net>
  • To: "Internetworkers:http"@entuend.com://www.ibiblio.org/internetworkers/ <internetworkers AT lists.ibiblio.org>
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  • Subject: [internetworkers] The marriage "penalty"
  • Date: Fri, 20 Feb 2004 21:33:01 -0500

Just because I didn't cite a reference about the (semi-mythical) marriage penalty before...

http://www.concordcoalition.org/federal_budget/marriagepenalty.html

<quote>
How Big is the Impact of the Penalty?

The Congressional Budget Office has concluded that more than 20 million married couples pay higher taxes than they would if they were single, giving rise to a marriage penalty. However, it is important to consider that CBO also concluded that another 25 million couples receive a marriage bonus, which means that their taxes are lower as a consequence of marriage.

More specifically, CBO has estimated that in 1996, just over half of all married couples received marriage bonuses, saving them $1,300 per couple on average. At the same time, a little more than 40 percent of couples incurred penalties, averaging $1,380 per couple.
</quote>

Plus, I misremembered the disparity of incomes thing...

"Couples in which earnings are split relatively equally between husbands and wives are more likely to experience a marriage penalty. Couples in which one member has little or no earnings will generally have a marriage bonus."

This site has an interesting history of the issue, and reminds me of why I messed up the disparity of income thing in the first place.

http://www.ncpa.org/bg/bg145.html

<quote>
In practice, the impact of lower tax rates was mainly on women. Since a married woman's earnings came on top of her husband's, she was in effect taxed at her husband's marginal tax rate on the first dollar of her earnings. Marginal tax rates as high as 90 percent after World War II strongly discouraged married women from working.
</quote>

Anyhoo, just in the mood to back up my statements with some links for once. :)

Diana




  • [internetworkers] The marriage "penalty", Diana Duncan, 02/20/2004

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