Max Baucus: “The so-called marriage penalty is not a penalty. It is the result of the code. Nobody in Congress decided we were going…”

“The so-called marriage penalty is not a penalty. It is the result of the code. Nobody in Congress decided we were going to penalize married couples by making changes in the Tax Code so that married couples would pay more than two singles would pay with their respective incomes. It is not a penalty in the sense of anyone ever thought of harming anybody. Rather, this is a consequence of the complexity of the Tax Code. It is a consequence of the mathematical impossibility of trying to do all things for all people. Most Americans want a progressive tax rate so married couples who have the same income, regardless of who earns the income, and how much, are taxed the same; in addition to that, have marriage neutrality so married couples do not have to pay more than singles. It is impossible to do all three. Therefore, the Congress has to make choices and judgments according to what it thinks makes the most sense. A little history would be instructive. When the income tax was first enacted, individuals were treated as a taxable unit, regardless of whether they were married or not.”