Marriage tax breaks prove we’re not all in this together

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Wedding RingsBy Bryony King / @BryonyVK

Yesterday I wrote how government cuts would be damaging to the aspirations of many youngsters – those who have had their new, state of the art schools cut and those from families where it no longer seems financially viable to stay on in education (although you can’t get a job instead because there aren’t enough to go around). Many of these youngsters will be from single parent families, who have no choice but to survive on one income. This is rather unfortunate, because under current government really seem to have the knives out for single parent families. This was proved again yesterday with the announcement that the Tories plan to implement tax breaks for married couples – so much for ‘we’re all in this together’.

I come from a single parent family, where one income – less than the national average – is what three of us survived on. If during my teenage years I had discovered that my classmate’s parent’s got an extra tax break for simply being married I would have reacted rather badly (probably with an angst-ridden poem). It’s difficult enough as a teenager to be labelled because you are a child from a single parent household, it’s difficult enough to be bullied, spat at or taunted for five years because your mother can’t afford the clothes, holidays, jewellery that others have, without finding out that those kids and families (who already appear to have everything) get even more and the government says that is right.

It’s hardly great for the parent either, struggling to bring up children alone. Often this is through absolutely no fault of their own because their spouse chose to leave them, they had to escape an abusive spouse or their spouse died. “Sorry for your loss but you can’t have that tax break anymore”. How sympathetic.

There are many, many couples out there that simply chose not to get married and live quite happily and securely. A stable and long-lasting relationship does not have to be a married one. Why should these couples and any children that they have be penalised too? Why should one type of family unit be supported more through the tax system at the expense of others? Through these tax allowances the government is giving the impression that one way of living is ‘right’ and will be rewarded and other ways are ‘wrong’. Social engineering? What is wrong with treating all couples and all families equally through the tax system, regardless of marital status? It’s not a lot to ask. ‘We’re all in this together’? No, we’re clearly not.

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