NationStates Jolt Archive

You know, my brother (who is an accoutant) recently showed me the break down of taxes. Now I am single, and I am happy to be single, and don't really plan on getting married in the near future. My brother is married, and they may have children. Anyways, back to the taxes, it seems that single people pay more in taxes than married couples, and married couples with children. Wy is that? I mean comon, this is not fair! I mean just because I choose to not get married, or have whiney little brats running around doesn't give the government the right to tax me more! I say if the married people and parents get tax breaks, then single people should get tax breaks too!

Who's with me??

Ask your brother what his expenses are then you can shut the hell up.

Ask your brother what his expenses are then you can shut the hell up.

Oh spare me that bullshit, they have two incomes, where I, only have one, and they don't even have children. They got a nice house, nice land, nice cars etc. Don't tell me that they can't afford to pay the same taxes that I do.

Stupid government using tax breaks as a way to get people to make babies...

You know, my brother (who is an accoutant) recently showed me the break down of taxes. Now I am single, and I am happy to be single, and don't really plan on getting married in the near future. My brother is married, and they may have children. Anyways, back to the taxes, it seems that single people pay more in taxes than married couples, and married couples with children. Wy is that? I mean comon, this is not fair! I mean just because I choose to not get married, or have whiney little brats running around doesn't give the government the right to tax me more! I say if the married people and parents get tax breaks, then single people should get tax breaks too!

Who's with me??

I say you get tax breaks the moment you gain the expense of a child.

The united states has always been pro family. Tax breaks exist so that families can have children without great over-expense. In other words they encourage you to take on the extra expense by giving you a little money back for it.

I don't know what country you are in, but it does sound silly to give tax breaks just for being married. You can benefit if the system gives tax breaks for children as they can be a source of tax income in the future, but even then it should be cheaper to just import people from the developing world. Indeed, encourageing the emmigration of gay people from the third world is probably the best way to boost the economy as they often don't have children thus no tax breaks for them.

Can you show us the actual figures or something? I'd like to forward this information to my boyfriend.

Well, the Bush administration has created a department which sends pamphlets to inner city women telling them that they will get tax breaks for marrying their “man.” You automatically get a tax break if you’re married in the US unless one of you is in the top income bracket.
I say you get tax breaks the moment you gain the expense of a child.
Yeah, but you get the break even if you don't have kids.

This is a deliberate attempt by the government to dictate morality.

This is a deliberate attempt by the government to dictate morality.

It certainly wouldn't be the first. *sigh*

I understand, and agree with, tax breaks for any taxpayer supporting a child - married or otherwise; but, I do NOT understand why one should get a tax break solely for marrying someone.

Can you show us the actual figures or something? I'd like to forward this information to my boyfriend.
For marriage without children, you essentially double your income and decrease your taxes by x percent.

Awwww poor single boy having to pay more taxes! Awww poor babusky! It really sucks! Awwwwww

As it's been said by others, it's to the goverments interest to have children.

You only offer a temporary contribution....

if you simply mean tax breaks for getting married then yeah, I agree with that to an extent but...eh...what can you do...tax and spend powers and all that.

As it's been said by others, it's to the goverments interest to have children.
That's not the point. It would make sense to offer a tax break to someone with kids as they have higher expenses, but people get a break just for being married, even if they don't have kids, and you don't have to be married to have kids anyway.

Yea, but it's not the government place to give people incinitives to get married and have children. The government should just stay out of that part of our lives.

I've filed perhaps 60 returns just in the past year (I worked at a tax office). You're still better off filing both of you as Single versus Married Filing Jointly, assuming you make about the same amount of money. MFJ benefits you if you have one person making a lot more money than the other. Some cohabiting couples file Single and Head of Household, and can get a lot of tax benefits that way too.

The kids is what really does it. Earned Income credit, Child Tax Credit, and of course the personal exemptions. It all depends on how you feel about welfare in general, I guess. I'm single, and if it weren't for my college, I could probably live comfortably on $15,000 per year (starting salary for my job will probably be 40k to 50k). Kids are dang expensive.

I've filed perhaps 60 returns just in the past year (I worked at a tax office). You're still better off filing both of you as Single versus Married Filing Jointly, assuming you make about the same amount of money. MFJ benefits you if you have one person making a lot more money than the other. Some cohabiting couples file Single and Head of Household, and can get a lot of tax benefits that way too.

The kids is what really does it. Earned Income credit, Child Tax Credit, and of course the personal exemptions. It all depends on how you feel about welfare in general, I guess. I'm single, and if it weren't for my college, I could probably live comfortably on $15,000 per year (starting salary for my job will probably be 40k to 50k). Kids are dang expensive.

and we come to the reason why I will never have children.

Promoting marriage promotes stability in the society.
People who are married are less likely to get up and move if things go for a crap. They're more likely to become involved with long-term community efforts. Both partners are less likely to commit a crime.

The statistics show that married people tend to cost society less on the whole. These days, common law relationships can have very much the same effect, and you're starting to see various governments recognizing that by granting them the same exemptions that married people have.

The statistics show that married people tend to cost society less on the whole.

Only because society is slanted towards them.

Oh spare me that bullshit, they have two incomes, where I, only have one, and they don't even have children. They got a nice house, nice land, nice cars etc. Don't tell me that they can't afford to pay the same taxes that I do.

Stupid government using tax breaks as a way to get people to make babies...

Yeah but not all families have two incomes now. I am the sole breadwinner and I support a wife and two children. Tax breaks for the married and those with kids are a good idea. Remeber that the goverment has to support the whole country, not just single, not just married, nor old, nor young and they have to make sure that we all get treated with some modicome of fairness.

However you break it down, two incomes or not, having kids is far far far far more expensive than you will ever belive(until you are in that position) and the chances of a married couple having kids are far higher than a single person. So if you use a little bit of common sense you'll see.

Yeah but not all families have two incomes now. I am the sole breadwinner and I support a wife and two children. Tax breaks for the married and those with kids are a good idea. Remeber that the goverment has to support the whole country, not just single, not just married, nor old, nor young and they have to make sure that we all get treated with some modicome of fairness.

However you break it down, two incomes or not, having kids is far far far far more expensive than you will ever belive(until you are in that position) and the chances of a married couple having kids are far higher than a single person. So if you use a little bit of common sense you'll see.

Yes, but it's a choice that married people make. I assume that most people, when the have children, they realize how expensive they're going to be, and base on the choice that they make, they should have to face the consequences.

You know, my brother (who is an accoutant) recently showed me the break down of taxes. Now I am single, and I am happy to be single, and don't really plan on getting married in the near future. My brother is married, and they may have children. Anyways, back to the taxes, it seems that single people pay more in taxes than married couples, and married couples with children. Wy is that? I mean comon, this is not fair! I mean just because I choose to not get married, or have whiney little brats running around doesn't give the government the right to tax me more! I say if the married people and parents get tax breaks, then single people should get tax breaks too!

Who's with me??

Being married with 2 children, I have to say I do rather enjoy the benefits. However, when I was single, I hated that I would pay more in taxes (just looking at all the tax breaks married w/dependents people got) when I didn't use the public school system or a lot of the other things those people use more. I absolutely agree with you that the system is completely hosed, but will continue to take every credit allowed to me under the current system.

Sorry.