“My wife and I would be better off getting divorced,” concludes the author of an article that’s getting a lot of attention on the blogs. Scott Sumner is lamenting on what amounts to extra taxes that he must pay because he is married. In fact Mr. Sumner has even calculated the amount that the “marriage penalty” costs him: “here’s something I can say for sure. If we did get divorced to save $80,000 to $100,000 in taxes over our lifetime, you’d never know about it. It would be between us and the IRS.”
UFI has written many times in the past about the “marriage penalty” and the inconsistent message sent to citizens by encouraging couples to marry and then taxing them more heavily than their unmarried and cohabiting contemporaries. Why a government would more heavily tax those who are participating in such a crucial social institution as marriage, escapes us.
We don’t agree with everything that the author of this very interesting piece has to say, but you will be entertained and enlightened on a topic that doesn’t get much attention—and it should.
To read the entire article go here.