Transformations  in
Business & Economics

Taxation as an Instrument of Family Policy: Effects for Women’s Employment
Magdalena Rekas

ABSTRACT. Family commitments frequently become a burden in professional life, especially for women. This works both ways – career development significantly hinders private life and performance of family duties. Faced with the choice of „career or family”, more and more women opt for career, postponing their fertility decisions. This results in more women in employment but lower fertility ratios. There are numerous negative long-term effects of that – social, economic and cultural.

The article attempts to assess how, if at all, women’s choices between family and professional life are affected by tax regulations in selected OECD countries. The analysis is supported with a discussion of the impact of fertility on women’s presence in the labour market – as seen by the economic theory – as well as a review of women’s employment and fertility figures in the EU during the 1998-2009 period. While discussing the tax aspect of the Polish family policies, the author observes its weaknesses and proposes changes to amend the situation.

Her research of European tendencies brought her to the conclusion that in the face of a demographic crisis the introduction of mechanisms neutralising the fiscal burdens for families with children might stimulate the parents’ professional activity and make it easier for them to reconcile the professional and family life rather than put family and fertility aside in favour of professional development. If this is neglected, the economies may lose a significant factor of their growth and development – human resources. The author intends to continue and expand her research of the problem.

KEYWORDS: determiners of women’s labour supply, fertility ratio, employment rate, models of family taxation, family-friendly policies, Poland.

JEL classification: E24, H31, J16, J21, O52.