Many people have argued that an income tax should be "marriage neutral," that is, two people should pay the same total tax whether they are married or they are single. Suppose Amanda earns nothing, Ben earns $60,000, and Cathy and Dylan each earn $30,000. They are all single. Amanda pays no tax because she has no income. If they all live in a country that has a progressive income tax, which will be higher: the tax that Ben pays or the sum of the taxes Cathy and Dylan pay?

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Dirty Harry

9 May, 12:14

Many people have argued that an income tax should be "marriage neutral," that is, two people should pay the same total tax whether they are married or they are single. Suppose Amanda earns nothing, Ben earns $60,000, and Cathy and Dylan each earn $30,000. They are all single. Amanda pays no tax because she has no income. If they all live in a country that has a progressive income tax, which will be higher: the tax that Ben pays or the sum of the taxes Cathy and Dylan pay?

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Brenda Hull · Answer 1

Ben would pay more in taxes.

Explanation:

A progressive income tax increases the tax rate as the taxpayer earns more money.

In this case, Ben would be taxed as earnings $60,000 which is probably a much higher tax rate than the applicable one for $30,000. If we use the current tax brackets for 2020, Ben would fall under the 22% tax bracket while both Cathy and Dylan would fall under the 12% tax bracket. Obviously Ben would pay much more in taxes.