Today is the second day of the “Challenging Gender Inequality in Tax Policy Making” workshop at the International Institute for the Sociology of Law in Onati, Spain. This morning’s panel, “Labour Markets and Saving Choices,” featured presentations by Ulrike Spanberg, Marjorie Kornhauser and Paloma Villota.
Ulrike Spanenberg presented her work on “Income Tax Deductions: Indirect Discrimination in Tax Law.” She spoke about methods for addressing gender inequality in taxation, using as a focal point data on the number of employees eligible to make pre-tax contributions to corporation pension plans in Germany.
Marjorie Kornhauser asked, “What’s Gender Got to Do With It?” in her paper on capital gains taxation. She explored how gender might impact which taxpayers experience capital gains and how gender-differentiated attitudes toward risk, among other factors, might explain gender asymmetries in the incidence of capital gain taxation.
Paloma de Villota presented her work on the “Impact of Income Tax on Labour Income-Earning Women in Spain.” She urged reform at the lower end of income tax brackets in order to enhance women’s economic well-being. She also mentioned her study (with Ignacio Ferrari) that reveals 80% of capital gains taxation in Spain for a recent period was experienced by male taxpayers. The paper, El Impuesto sobre la Renta de las Personas FÃsicas en Castilla y León desde la perspectiva de género, is available here.
Kim Brooks is presenting now on “International Justice for Women.” She asks what feminist theory brings to the question of tax treaties and inter-nation equity.
-Bridget Crawford
