October 18, 2024
On October 15, 2024, EPPC Scholar Jamie Bryan Hall submitted a public comment in response to an RFI from the House Ways and Means Committee.
The comment argues that in next year’s tax reform debate, Congress should seize the opportunity to eliminate the greatest injustice in the federal income tax code: marriage penalties.
The tax reform that would most benefit working families is not simply the tax reform that appears to benefit the most working families. True pro-family policy requires careful attention to incentives for work, marriage, and childbearing throughout the tax and welfare systems:
1. All child-related tax code provisions should be consolidated into a larger Child Tax Credit (CTC).
2. As earnings increase, the phase-in of the expanded CTC should be coordinated with the phase-out of traditional welfare benefits.
3. Program administrative data should be shared with the IRS and used to prevent fraud.
4. The tax computation for married couples filing jointly should be adjusted so that the benefit of adding a spouse to the tax unit does not exceed the benefit of adding a child.
