4 ms·

Your wife forgoing her career hurts the overall productivity of the economy. Why should this be subsidized?

• phamilton 13y ago
  That could be said about any do-it-yourself endeavor. Making my own food is subsidized (no sales tax) when eating out is better for the productivity of the economy, for example.
  • rayiner 13y ago
    You're hitting on an important theoretical point with regards to income taxes, which is that do it yourself work is effectively subsidized because the fair market value isn't imputed for taxation purposes. Imputing taxes is a can of worms, but it doesn't help your position. If such taxes existed, you'd be taxed on the fair market value of the child care duties performed by your wife.
    • phamilton 13y ago
      Interesting. I think I understand a bit better now after thinking through the following hypothetical: I decide to swap kids with a neighbor during the day. My wife watches their kids, they watch our kids. We pay each other 40k a year to do so. I would then be able to deduct the 40k as a child care expense, but I would also have 40k additional income. The net result on taxable income would be zero. In a lot of ways, that makes perfect sense.