Sweden reached the 2009 OECD average level of female labor force participation already in 1974. Before 1971 spouses were taxed jointly. This meant that the wife’s financial gain of working was a function of the husband’s income. The higher income of the husband, the lower was the wife’s...

In this paper, I explore the optimal taxation of singles and couples in an economy with bargaining couples. The government is concerned with the redistribution of income from individuals with high utility to individuals with low utility, recognizing that some individuals live in couple...