Tax and the Childfree

Fresh out of my first day of tax law class, here are two articles that mention the tax code as it relates to childless people. I come across these too frequently to post, but one of these articles seemed particularly focused on the subject.

In the UK: Cameron's family tax breaks 'will leave unmarried couples paying more'

Labour has warned that millions of childless and unmarried people would face higher taxes under a Tory government under plans floated by David Cameron.

The Tory leader, who has promised to reward marriage through the tax system, pledged that "every pound" of new green taxes to combat climate change would be spent on cutting "family taxes".
. . .
Labour ministers seized on his remarks, claiming that people not in traditional families would miss out on the compensatory tax cuts on income while paying the new environmental taxes. Mr Camer-on's commitment to cutting taxes for married couples with children had come under fire during a Newsnight interview earlier in the week, when the journalist Stephanie Flanders challenged the Tory leader on the issue: "I'm not married, I have a small child," said Ms Flanders. "Are you saying the Conservative Party would like me to be married?"

After a moment's pause, Mr Cameron said that he was not interested in running other people's lives but added: "I am unashamedly pro-family. For me it comes absolutely first.". . .

Bloomberg, in Washington Speech, Calls for Expanded Tax Credit

Bloomberg, mayor of the largest U.S. city, said that while improving public education was the single most important anti- poverty goal in New York, an expanded Earned Income Tax Credit could help. He suggested lowering the age of childless adults eligible to receive it to 21 from 25, and raising the income eligibility to $18,040 from $12,120.
. . .
The mayor said he would make eligibility for the expanded benefits conditional upon such socially desirable behaviors as working a 30-hour week for at least half a year for childless individuals or one parent in married families with children.
. . .
Single and married couples without qualifying children who don't meet the work requirement would receive no Earned Income Tax Credit, he said.
. . .
For a married family with one child and $22,000 in joint income, the proposed treatment would result in a benefit of $3,700, instead of the current $1,598, he said.

A married couple with no children and income of $22,000 would get a tax credit of about $2,000, compared to nothing under existing law, he said.

Technorati Tag: childfree