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This entry was posted on Monday, August 25th, 2008 at 11:32 am and is filed under 2008 Elections, Taxes, Women's Issues. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
In response to the August 14 editorial, "Obama's War on Women," there are many flaws in Sen. Obama's plans, which include changes that worsen the situation in New York where, as you point out, the nominal tax rate on some two-income families could move beyond 54%.
Women make up more than half the national electorate. Women will be watching to see where the two leading presidential candidates stand on issues that effect their earning power, and their families' economic status. Marriage penalties hurt working women and hurt the economy. Existing tax laws, and Obama's "new" plan, favor single-income households and punish dual-income couples. The second earner has little incentive to work because she keeps so little of her earnings.
Both spouses should have the choice to file in whatever method is most economically beneficial; they should be able to file in ways that keep the most money in their pockets.
This matters because women-owned businesses account for 31.8 percent of all privately-held firms in New York, according to the Center for Women's Business Research. The Empire State ranks second among the 50 states in the number of women-owned businesses. These firms generated more than $132 billion in sales, and employed 740,548 people, as of 2006. Small business is the engine of our economy. Why kill the engine?
As for employees, women who work for even modest wages outside the home pay effective tax rates higher than Bill Gates! That doesn't argue for higher taxes on Microsoft's founder, but it demonstrates the complexity of tax systems.
People need a level playing field under tax law, so those who save for retirement, purchase insurance, pay for long-term care and other benefits receive just as much tax relief as those who obtain such benefits at work.
Women and men need not only fairer tax policies, but also flexible benefit systems, work systems that fit child care and elder care, equal treatment for retirement, insurance portability, Social Security taxes that do not raise marginal rates, and no earnings penalty for seniors.
Terry Neese, NCPA Distinguished Fellow