INCREASING WOMEN'S INCOME
Tax Policy

Tax policies are a statement of government priorities as they detail what individuals or business the government decides to provide tax relief for and how much relief. When governments cut taxes they make a statement that they prefer cutting taxes for individuals or businesses to making investments in programs such as housing, health care, and education.

Federal tax policy outlines what individuals and/or businesses the President and Congress decide to provide tax relief for and how much relief. Federal tax policies tell us what entities and products will be taxed, and how much they will be taxed. Tax cuts – whether for individuals or businesses – are a significant and much-debated aspect of tax policy, often evoking strong ideological reactions. There are two main philosophies when it comes to tax policy.

One school of thought holds that taxes play a vital and irreplaceable role in our nation. These individuals point out that tax dollars – whether paid to the federal, state or local government – are critical to fund useful programs that benefit the common good. Our taxes fund programs that people could not individually afford to purchase or produce for themselves, like an education system, Medicare, national security, and road construction. They also believe that the tax system should not be regressive – that is, the tax rate should be based on an individual’s ability to pay.

They also argue tax policy should be fundamentally fair and that when state and federal officials pass tax cuts that primarily benefit the wealthy, in addition to taking money away from investments in national priorities such as Social Security and health care, they widen the gap between rich and poor. Advocates point out that that federal tax policy specifically over the past seven years has primarily benefited high income individuals yet little has been done for middle and low-income individuals and families.

On the other side, there are those who argue in favor of smaller government. These advocates believe that individuals and businesses in the U.S. pay too much in taxes, and argue that tax policy should not be used to redistribute money from the wealthy to those with lower incomes. Some of these individuals also believe that people should be allowed to keep their money-regardless of whether the money was gained through inheritance, passing it down within the family, stocks, workers pay checks- and they’d like to see fewer taxes on the money that people earn, inherit, or win. Additionally, these advocates argue that the tax cuts passed since 2001 by Congress have primarily benefited the wealthy, because the wealthy are the ones paying most of the majority of taxes in the United States.

YWCA Position
Increasing Women’s Incomes includes policies that contribute to the economic empowerment of women. This includes but is not limited to policies that address the minimum wage, pay equity, social security, and budget and tax policy.

The YWCA supports initiatives to increase the income of women, including policies that raise the minimum wage, protect overtime, strengthen equal pay, maintain the earned income tax credit, oppose the privatization of Social Security, and expand non-traditional training for women from all socioeconomic and racial backgrounds.