Taxing Choices

In the early 1990s, lawyer Beth Symes brought an equality challengeagainst the Canadian Income Tax Act, arguing that her childcare costswere a business expense. The case ignited public controversy. Was Symesdisadvantaged on the basis of gender, or unfairly privileged on thebasis of class? This book seeks answers to those questions throughclose attention to the Symes case, where class and gender interestsclashed over the tax treatment of childcare. It looks at the history oflegislative and litigative struggles, the dynamics of courtroomdiscourse, and the influence of broad social debates about children andthe public/private divide. It reveals how frequently the rhetoric ofchoice, responsibility, and selfishness is invoked in response towomen's attempts to place issues of childcare on the public agenda.