In my country it is actually the same bulls..t. If you have kids, you get all kind of benefits( (not only tax way) also for energy bills, buying properties etc, while ppl like me, singles, have to pay the highest taxes. But what do we get in return? Zip, zero, nada!!! I have to make the ends meet myself If i loose my job, i can not pay the bills nor food on the table. I don't have a partner who is working as well and backing me up. I really would like to call it discrimination and getting more and more irritated about it.
In our system singles are always considered as ppl who don't want to have responsibilities, want to be free, want to party etc etc. In fact our society is more and more shifting to (happy) singles. People who got divorced, people whose partner got passed away, people who really want to find a partner but are simply unlucky , and yes, ppl who prefer to be alone. So it is not that all singles choose to be single. I see a lot in my country that this group of people are simply getting ignored, they are 'non-existing', except if it goes about paying.
Our tax system is not up to date anymore, it is based on the 60's where starting a family is the norm. Well times are changed and i don't see the justification anymore why families should get everything. Like said before, having kids is a choice, but i don't see a reason why i have to pay for that. Yes i do know they will work for your and my pension in the end but we, as a society, are too much depending on our authorities to take care of everything. The current tax system is sometimes tweeked a bit here, a bit there, a bit here. Wrong. It should be reformed and adapted to the current society, meaning that: you want kids, fine you can but you pay yourself for that.
I am a big defender of a flat tax rate system. You wanna work your ass of, good, you get rewarded. You dont want to work more but rather enjoy life? No problem, you won't get punished and pay the same tax percentage. It is a system that allow the working class to choose rather than 'having to'. Taxes will have to be paid for sure but will be spend to the more needy people: sickness, people with a low wage, ppl who got unfit because of an accident, ppl who lost their job etc. The higher your income, the less benefits you get (no matter what your status is!!!!) but because you pay much lower taxes, you can provide yourself more.
Sorry i had to react and defend the 'forgotten' group.