Bachelor tax

Late 19th century illustration and perspective on the bachelor tax.

A bachelor tax is a punitive tax imposed on unmarried men. In the modern era, many countries do vary tax rates by marital status, so current references to bachelor taxes are typically implicit rather than explicit; and given the state of tax law is very complicated, as tax accountancy concepts like income splitting can come into play.[1][2]

Such explicit measures historically would be instituted as part of a moral panic or homophobia due to the important status given to marriage at various times and places (as in Ancient Rome, or in various U.S. state legislatures during the early 20th century).[3][4][5][6] Frequently, this would be attached to racial (e.g., as part of Apartheid policies)[5] or nationalistic reasons (as in Fascist Italy or Nazi Germany).[7][8]

More recently, bachelor taxes were viewed as part of a general tax on childlessness, which were used frequently by member states of the Warsaw Pact.[9][10][11]

  1. ^ Bird, Richard M. (1978). "On the Importance of Tax Details: Joint vs. Individual Filing". National Tax Journal. Vol. 31, no. 2. National Tax Association. pp. 203–04. JSTOR 41863114.
  2. ^ Allègre, G.; Périvier, H.; Pucci, M. (2021-03-20). "Taxation of Couples and Marital Status – Simulation of Three Reforms of the Marital Quotient in France". Économie et Statistique / Economics and Statistics. pp. 526–527.
  3. ^ Kornhauser, Marjorie E. (July 12, 2012). "Taxing Bachelors in America: 1895-1939". Tulane Public Law Research Paper No. 17-7. doi:10.2139/ssrn.2934318.
  4. ^ Aulus Gellius (1795). The Attic Nights. Printed for J. Johnson ... Retrieved 18 March 2016.
  5. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference south_africa was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference new_jersey was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ J. Pollard, The Fascist Experience in Italy, London, 1998, pp. 78-9.
  8. ^ "Mussolini Imposes Tax on Bachelors." The Evening Independence. 10 December 1926.
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference prezi was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ Cite error: The named reference russian_tax was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  11. ^ Cite error: The named reference poland was invoked but never defined (see the help page).