Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for raising the issue of taxation of the family. As the member will know, the finance committee appointed a subcommittee on the issue during the 6th parliament. I would refer him to its report which points out very clearly that it is inappropriate to compare a two income family with an aggregate income of $60,000 to a one income family making $60,000.
The real comparison is this: What is the tax burden on a two income family in which one person decides to withdraw from the workforce? This would result in a real drop in net take home pay. The issue is about comparing a family to itself with two options.
The member may be familiar with the fact that the United States has joint filing. Would the member support a move toward recognizing the family unit by taxing the family but with a separate rate?