> It would be rather regressive to tax a two-person household each earning $25k/yr at the same rate as a single individual making $50k/yr, despite the fact that

> It would be rather regressive to tax a two-person household each earning $25k/yr at the same rate as a single individual making $50k/yr, despite the fact that household income is the same. Two individual people earning $25k should pay a lower rate of tax than one individual earning $50k, yes. But a marriage-based tax break is not the right way to implement this. Tax them individually, just like everyone else, with a progressive tax. The married couple already have significant financial advantages over the single person: the financial security that comes from having two incomes (or even from having one person managing the household, if that's what you're imagining) is huge.