The House Tax Relief for American Families and Workers

If the mother married the father, the father’s earnings would be “on the books” and would be used to determine the family’s welfare benefits. [...] The combined earnings and welfare for the unmarried couple would rise to $63,978.18 If the couple married, the housing subsidy would be cut sharply, and the overall marriage penalty would rise to $14,544.19 (See Tables 2 and 3.) Polls show that the public strongly supports removing marriage penalties within the welfare state. [...] This enfeebles the work require- ment on the custodial parent herself and greatly expands the opportunity to game the system by doubling the annual earnings figures that parents and labor surrogates can use to claim the credit. [...] The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, which focuses on expanding the welfare state, celebrates the “great news” of the passage of TRAFWA in the House and correctly sees the bill as an important incremental step toward an even larger welfare state and the complete elimination of welfare work require- ments in the near future.56 The Center for Law and Social Policy concurs: “This bipartisan ta. [...] The example assumes the non-married parents cohabit in subsidized housing but the father remains “off the books.” After marriage, the father is “on the books” and the rent subsidy is cut, but the family would still receive a housing subsidy, albeit of reduced value.