Coyne On Income Splitting

He writes:

The Tory plan...removes an unfair preference: between two-income and one-income families.

This is a point that seems to elude the critics. Income-splitting isn’t some sort of special tax break for one-income families. It merely puts them on the same footing as two-income families. Under the present system, a family with one spouse earning, say, $80,000 pays thousands of dollars more in tax — $4,170 more, according to economist Jack Mintz — than a family with two spouses earning $40,000 each. This is manifestly unfair, even allowing for any value imputed to the “unpaid housework” performed by the stay-at-home spouse (a conceptual and computational morass, probably best avoided).

Actually, no it isn't.  If both members of the family earning $40,000 apiece wanted to make more money...well, they probably couldn't.  That is, they're porbably making as much as they can.  On the other hand, a family where one spouse makes  $80,000 and the other $0 has mostly likely voluntarily chosen to forgo the income of one spouse so as to persue a boutique life-style most of us can't afford. And I'm not willing to pay $182 out of my pocket for that.  Forget the principles yada yada that Coyne's refs in his piece.  We all now who this measure is for, right?  We all  know where the money's going: wealthy Reform-style Conservatives who need to have an ideological bone thrown them in advance of the 2015 election.  Andrew's just throwing a layer of philosophical abractions over the whole pile so people don't notice the smell.  Typical for him.

Advice To Federal Tories: Run On Income Splitting

Tax breaks for couples wealthy enough to live their lives in the Biblical manner.  Forget any silly economic "principle" used to justify the move; follow the money.  The same people who 15 years ago were pushing for a repeal of the metric system are now going to get favorable tax treatment because they are better than the rest of us.  They're making society a more stable place.  Families with two working parents, single parent families, childless couples...we're all  apparently just dicking around.  And of course we know where The Select are geographically concentrated, don't we?   Money from our cities and towns will be diverted to places like Big Valley, Alberta.  Shoveled out of the backs of pick-up trucks with pitch-forks.

Sure, run on that.

Who Benefits From Income Splitting?

Rich folk.  Or, more precisely, couples earning $200,000 per year with a stay-at-home spouse.

From this guy.  No wonder Finance Minister Jim Flaherty is having doubts. I can't see this as being good politics, and it wouldn't surprise me if his negative comments are some kind of trial balloon to gather feedback before the Tories decide for or against.  Alternatively, if you've heard Flaherty lately, he sounds terrible, so maybe he's set to retire and doesn't care that he's breaking with party orthodoxy.