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Is There a “Singles Tax”? The Relative Income Tax Treatment of Single Households
Author(s) -
Alm James,
Whittington Leslie A.,
Fletcher Jason
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
public budgeting and finance
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.694
H-Index - 30
eISSN - 1540-5850
pISSN - 0275-1100
DOI - 10.1111/1540-5850.00074
Subject(s) - economics , income tax , labour economics , tax deferral , state income tax , demographic economics , indirect tax , liability , tax reform , public economics , gross income , finance
The existence of a “marriage tax,” in which many married couples pay more taxes when married than their combined taxes as single individuals, is well known. However, largely lost in the attention devoted to married taxpayers is the treatment of single taxpayers. This article examines the relative tax treatment of single and married taxpayers. Various types of representative taxpayers are constructed, and the difference in income taxes paid by single taxpayers and married taxpayers is calculated. These calculations show that there is a “singles tax”; that is, a single individual typically pays a greater income tax liability than a married couple with identical income, especially when the main transfer programs are considered.