title: Does the income tax affect marital decisions?
abstract: "This paper discusses new empirical evidence on the role of income tax incentives in marital decisions [in the United States]. Time-series evidence suggests that taxes have a small but statistically significant effect on the aggregate marriage rate; however, this evidence is sensitive to the time period and the measure of marriage. Additional evidence, based on household longitudinal data, indicates that the probability of marriage falls and that of divorce rises with an increase in the so-called marriage tax, and that the timing of marriage (though not of divorce) is also affected by taxes. In short, there is strong evidence that taxes affect some marital decisions."
mesh_terms: D000569:Americas; D001519:Behavior; D003657:Decision Making; D003710:Demography; D019049:Developed Countries; D004243:Divorce; D004467:Economics; D005376:Financial Management; D008393:Marriage; D009042:Motivation; D009656:North America; D011153:Population; D011157:Population Dynamics; D011640:Public Policy; D013660:Taxes; D013997:Time Factors; D014481:United States
keywords: Americas; Behavior; Decision Making--determinants; Demographic Factors; Developed Countries; Divorce--determinants; Economic Factors; Financial Activities; Incentives; Marriage; Marriage Patterns--determinants; North America; Northern America; Nuptiality; Policy; Population; Population Dynamics; Taxation; Time Factors; United States