Dear Mary...

TMC's get certain perks, such as tax breaks and survivor benefits, based on
thousands-of-years-old religious ideas

Not really, given that the income tax in the U.S. is less than a
century old.

The idea wasn't religious but societal: married couples raise children
and need all the help they can get.

The funny thing is that the old fix (two individuals can share one
income) got fixed about fifty years ago so as to lessen the
discrimination against single individuals, with the result that now
that most married individuals are working, they pay more taxes than if
they were single.

About the only boon remaining for the marrieds is that they are not
subject to the $11,000 gift limitation that the rest of society is
supposed to be guided by. As John Kerry has demonstrated, your wife
can share her wealth with you without restriction.


all the best -- Dan Ford
email: (requires authentication)

see the Warbird's Forum at www.warbirdforum.com
and the Piper Cub Forum at www.pipercubforum.com