Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/278534 
Year of Publication: 
2023
Series/Report no.: 
ECONtribute Discussion Paper No. 239
Publisher: 
University of Bonn and University of Cologne, Reinhard Selten Institute (RSI), Bonn and Cologne
Abstract: 
This paper studies the tax treatment of couples. We develop two different ap-proaches. One is tailored to the analysis of tax systems that stick to the principle that the tax base for couples is the sum of their incomes. One is tailored to the analysis of reforms toward individual taxation. We study the US federal income tax since the 1960s through the lens of this framework. We find that, in the recent past, realizing efficiency gains requires lowering marginal tax rates for secondary earners. We also find that revenue-neutral reforms towards individual taxation are in the interest of couples with high secondary earnings while couples with low secondary earnings are worse off. The support for such a reform recently passed the majority threshold. It is rejected, however, by a Rawlsian social welfare function. Thus, there is a tension between Rawlsian and Feminist notions of social welfare.
Subjects: 
Taxation of couples
Tax reforms
Optimal taxation
Political economy
Non-linear income taxation
JEL: 
C72
D72
D82
H21
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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