The UK tax system is unusual in that it takes virtually no account of either marriage or family responsibilities. Most other countries’ systems explicitly recognise both. Tax credits do, of course, take account of the financial needs of children of one parent, but in the case of two-parent families they ignore the needs of the second parent. This is one of the reasons why the Government has failed to meet its child poverty targets.
Care reports Couple Penalty and Taxation of married families
