Should Divorce Be More Taxing?: Structuring Tax Reduction to Reduce Inequality

Current law makes divorce a time for minimizing some couples’ taxes. The group who benefit from the reduction are unlikely to be those in greatest financial need following divorce. Existing divorce-related taxation focuses on shifting the tax burden between spouses, the implicit and explicit elections that enable this shifting, and the classification of who should be entitled to this tax reduction. This article argues that Congress should focus tax reduction on those with minimal resources following divorce to ensure an equitable distribution of the nation’s tax burden. This article proposes an alternative tax regime more consistent with mitigating inequality. Instead of maximizing collective tax reduction, tax reduction should be targeted to lower-income spouses with a tax credit and custodians of children with retention of child-based tax benefits. Through its discussion of divorce-related taxation, this case study highlights that Congress should be wary of viewing tax reduction as an end on its own but should focus greater attention on the structure of the reduction