Because Betsey and I earn similar incomes, we would pay a marriage penalty. The U.S. has a household-based taxation system which subsidizes married families when one person stays home and taxes most people extra if they choose to marry and both work full-time. The average tax cost of marriage for a dual-income couple is $1,500 annually. When our accountant ran the numbers for us a few years back we discovered marriage would cost us substantially more. I love Betsey and all, but is the marriage certificate worth thousands of dollars annually? I can love her plenty without the certificate.
— Economists in Love: Betsey Stevenson and Justin Wolfers - Spousonomics
