Question

Over the years, policy-makers have made much of their attempts to eliminate tax “marriage penalties.” How successful have these efforts been (give at least one example), and why do you think we have not seen an equal enthusiasm for eradicating tax “marriage bonuses?”

Answer 1

Tax on Marriage Penalities exist when the tax on a couples joint return is more than the combined taxes payable by each spouse and this is more applicable for the couples who fall in higher income bracket .

With lot of efforts and reforms we can say the tax on marriage penalities is nearly eradicated but it is still applicable for the high income couples whose combined income is more than $600000 though this is a disadvantage for married couple compared to unmarried ones but there are certain benefits attached to it too like tax exemptions on estate transfers , retirement saving benefits which allows couples to double up their retirment savings even if only one sposue works and may be this is one of the reasons why there has not been a equal enthusiasm for eradicating this tax