Newlywed Congressman Targets Income Tax ‘Marriage Penalty’

Hearts that beat as one pay as one when it comes to computing federal income taxes for married couples.

And House Budget Committee Chairman John Kasich, R-Ohio, who tied the knot with Karen Waldbillig in March, does not fondly regard the federal tax provision that unites their income tax rates as well.

Less than six months after saying “I do,” Kasich has introduced legislation to eliminate the tax code’s so-called “marriage penalty,” which increases the income taxes about 14 million couples must pay because tax brackets treat married couples as a unit rather than as individuals.

Under current law, the earnings of each spouse are combined for the purpose of computing taxes. This puts two-earner couples in a higher income bracket, which often results in them paying more taxes than they would as separate individuals because tax rates are progressive and would require the couple to pay a higher percentage of their earnings to Uncle Sam.

“If there is one institution we need to strengthen in this country, it’s the family,” Kasich said. “And if there’s one step we can take to aid the family, it should be elimination of this oppressive, unfair penalty on married couples. We need to make this a crusade.”

Kasich’s bill, which House budget committee staff estimates would cost the treasury about $8 billion each year, would allow each spouse to choose whether to be taxed at a rate as if he or she were a single filer or at the rate for couples filing jointly.

While many married couples are penalized under current tax law treating them as a unit, some - often those with only one working member - benefit from the provision.