Title | Broadside, Vol. 2, No. 4, April 1971 |
Publisher | National Organization for Women, Houston Chapter |
Date | April 1971 |
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Language | English |
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Original Item Location | HQ1439 .H68 B75 |
Original Item URL | http://library.uh.edu/record=b3767173~S11 |
Digital Collection | Houston and Texas Feminist and Lesbian Newsletters |
Digital Collection URL | http://digital.lib.uh.edu/collection/feminist |
Repository | Special Collections, University of Houston Libraries |
Repository URL | http://info.lib.uh.edu/about/campus-libraries-collections/special-collections |
Use and Reproduction | Educational use only, no other permissions given. Copyright to this resource is held by the content creator, author, artist or other entity, and is provided here for educational purposes only. It may not be reproduced or distributed in any format without written permission of the copyright owner. For more information please see UH Digital Library Fair Use policy on the UH Digital Library About page. |
Title | Page 2 |
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File Name | femin_201109_093b.jpg |
Transcript | BROADSIDE — ...simultaneous discharge of all the guns on one side of a warship...any strong or comprehensive attack, as by criticism...a song, chiefly In l6th- and 17th-century England, written on a topical subject, printed on broadsides, and sung in public.., by a professional balladeer... The Random House Dictionary of the English Language, Unabridged Edition Freud might have said it, but he was more subtle. Mort Sahl, Spiro Agnew, and Hugh Hefner are likely candidates. For once, though, let a man remain anonymous. Some arrogant and not-too-funny sexist once declared, "Women—keep them barefoot and pregnant." That's not important. What is significant is that many men including our venerable Uncle Sam have taken the clitticism to heart. The Internal Revenue Service evidently agrees with the sentiment. Tax laws favor large families and traditional living arrangements. Women who are married and stay at home get better tax breaks than single women or women who are married, have children, and work. TAXES AND THE SINGLE GIRL Single women pay the most. All single people are discriminated against, but women, of course, are the majority. Singles are taxed up to 20% higher than married taxpayers filing jointly. The IRS obviously believes in mar - riage. Vivien Kellems, vivacious and single in her seventies, has another approach. For three decades she has filed for refunds on overpayments ( the amount in excess of married rates). This year she has lined up 100 Congressional co-sponsors for a tax equity bill. THE MARRIED WOMAN If a woman marries and has no children she and her husband can file jointly and save money. If she pursues a career she can suffer under IRS regulations. The working wife must often quit her job and follow her spouse to any city he chooses. With few exceptions, the IRS makes no provisions for husbands and wives who live and work in different cities. The traveling spouse cannot deduct going-to-and-fro expenses. It's difficult to pursue a serious career under these circumstances. Once a woman marries and has a child she may be tempted to give birth to more tax exemptions. If she chooses to work, she discovers that child care expenses are deductible only if she and her husband do not make over $6000 combined gross income. The maximum deduction is $600 for one child, $900 for two or more. Since child care costs &1000-1200 per child per year the allowable deduction is utterly unrealistic. If a husband and wife do make less than $6000, they must file an itemized report and cannot take the standard deduction. Legally separated, divorced, deserted, widowed women and women whose husbands are not capable of self-support have no income limit for child care deductions. Nonetheless, a woman who marries, has children, and a husband with a decent job is obviously meant to stay at home. If "home is where the heart is," then it's good enough for the rest of the body, especially if that body is female, reasons the IRS apparently. NEWSLETTER CO-EDITORS Helen Cassidy Laura Douglas |