I'm afraid I can't help too much, but I just need to add my 2 cents. My brother & his ex-wife, both lawyers played the marriage tax game several times divorcing & remarrying according to which made the most tax sense. Illegal, I doubt it, that's like saying if you have kids for the tax break then you are breaking the law. The rules seem to be black & white, and they don't seem to consider your motives. If you have kids, you get a tax break, the IRS doesn't care why you had your kids. This may sound extreme sine NOBODY would ever bring a child into this world for such a silly reason. Maybe a more realistic case would be a man who steals food to feed his children, many might forgive such an act, but the law says it's illegal.
Back to the marriage tax, I think it is immoral to tax people on their participation in a religous custom. I was overjoyed when GW worked to eliminate this tax, but I was sorely disappointed when I found out that the repeal has an income limit. Rich married people must pay a penalty, when middle class married people don't. I would have preferred the total elimination of the marriage tax in conjunction with an increase in the upper tax brackets even if it meant I paid more taxes overall. I am offended by the marriage tax. It's morally wrong. My wife & I pay over $2000/year for the privilege of being married, but we won't play the game. We respect our marriage too much. My brother is now divorced for good, and I think that taking their marriage lightly contributed to their downfall.
Your friend could possibly calculate what the savings would be, and determine if that is worth it to them. http:// [url]http://www.turbotax.com/calculators/index.html [/url] It's free.
Back to the marriage tax, I think it is immoral to tax people on their participation in a religous custom. I was overjoyed when GW worked to eliminate this tax, but I was sorely disappointed when I found out that the repeal has an income limit. Rich married people must pay a penalty, when middle class married people don't. I would have preferred the total elimination of the marriage tax in conjunction with an increase in the upper tax brackets even if it meant I paid more taxes overall. I am offended by the marriage tax. It's morally wrong. My wife & I pay over $2000/year for the privilege of being married, but we won't play the game. We respect our marriage too much. My brother is now divorced for good, and I think that taking their marriage lightly contributed to their downfall.
Your friend could possibly calculate what the savings would be, and determine if that is worth it to them. http:// [url]http://www.turbotax.com/calculators/index.html [/url] It's free.
