02 Jul '15 15:05>
Originally posted by Shallow BlueAt present, there is no US federal gift tax charged for money or other items of monetary value transferred between spouses (I don't know about other countries). But it is charged for parent-to-child, friend-to-friend, and other gift situations. Would you eliminate this and require the gifting spouse to keep track and pay gift tax when the limit is exceeded? In many cases there is income disparity, even to the point of one spouse being "stay-at-home," say, home schooling children or devoting time to charity work, or is unemployed involuntarily.🙂) This is clearly a government-bestowed benefit of marriage.
I actually agree, but only on one, unnegotiable condition: that you don't get any, I repeat any bonuses, tax credits, subsidies, whatever, for being married. All accounts are to remain separate, spouses get no benefits, not during life, not on inheritance, none whatsoever.
In other words: if the state has no business in your marriage, your marri ...[text shortened]... fine: less of my tax money would go to married couples who only whine to me about their spouses.
One might say the gift tax should itself be eliminated, but this "easy solution" is unlikely, and raises issues best discussed in another thread.