An Op-Ed article in the NY Times today, March 24, 2001, by Ann Crittenden, advocates taxing everybody as individuals, just as was done up to (I think) 1948. I personally agree with that.

However, she quotes a statistic to bolster her argument: that 38% of married couples paid more Federal income tax in 1999, than they would have if they were able to file as individuals.

Well, I have a Ph.D. in applied mathematics and I like to think I know something about arithmetic. If the statistic is about married filing jointly, then that also says that 62% of married couples paid less Federal income tax than they would have, if they filed as individuals.

There are plenty of oxen to be gored, and there is no one answer to make everybody happy. Then there are the inevitable complications, such as, if all file as individuals, then who gets the exemption for dependants and the child care credit.