The government must offer married couples tax breaks, said soon-to-retire Chief Rabbi Lord Sacks in a recent interview.
Talking to The Times, the 65 year old called on the government to “recognise marriage in the tax system”.
He explained:
“Although I don’t take a political stance…I don’t think the government has done enough at all. The state has an interest in marriage because the cost of family breakdown and non-marriage, the last time I looked at it, was estimated at £9 billion a year.”
The government should, said Lord Sacks, “…certainly give more support to mothers who stay at home or for childcare provision.”
The introduction of tax breaks for married couples has been a long-running bone of contention amongst some Tory MPs. In July, a group planned to introduce a rebel amendment to the Finance Bill 2013, bringing in the tax allowance. The planned vote were abandoned at the last minute when Prime Minister David Cameron promised to introduce the tax break “shortly”.
However, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg remains firmly opposed to the measure, saying the money would be better spent on making childcare more affordable.
There are more important things to address than tax breaks for married couples. Tax breaks are just a financial incentive…, what needs to change is the attitude that realtionships are disposable. We need family courts to support the family rather doing everything possible to encourage an end to the raltionship as quickly as possible,
I don’t think it is possible to change the attitude that relationships are disposable. Even being the best parent possible, and instilling morals in your children, they are still going to grow up in a capitalist country that treats relationships between everyone in terms of monetary gain and value.
The patriarchal rabbi better get with it and gender-neutralize his language though; it’s not only mothers who stay at home caring for kids any more.