Friday, January 4, 2013

Rational Economic Spouses Meet the Fiscal Cliff Deal

http://www.thefiscaltimes.com/Articles/2013/01/04/For-High-Income-Earners-Time-for-a-Tax-Divorce.aspx#page1


There's some pretty hardcore desacralization by rational economic man and wife here---essentially a strategic divorce for tax purposes while remaining for all other purposes married.
Message to lawmakers:  You can't count on the sacral nature of something to prevent people, especially very wealthy people, from acting to reduce the impact on themselves of whatever you choose to do.  In fact by making such laws (bracket starting at 400k, 450k if married), with such an aggressive marriage penalty, you are in fact speeding the desacralization of said institution. 

2 comments:

Matthew Walker said...

Why would they see this as a problem? It's in effect a tax on rich people with non-Cathedral values.

Jehu said...

Matthew,
Among Cathedral elites, being married is still pretty normative.