Science at UM [S01-ep17]: From gender equality in taxation to the CAD/CAM laboratory

[Podcast] - Published on March 31, 2022 in Science-Society

This week on A l’UM la science, Lise Chatain, lecturer at the Faculty of Law and Political Science, tells us all about tax equality within couples. In the second part of the program, François Bertrand welcomes us to the CAD/CAM laboratory at the Faculty of Dentistry.

To introduce today's program, I've decided to talk to you about a childhood memory: "story time." Forget the log fire and "Once upon a time" stories. I'm talking about the monthly gathering where, in cathedral-like silence, my brother, sister, and I would watch our parents sitting around the living room table, their brows furrowed and their noses buried in the accounts for the past month. In front of them lay a single pay slip, my father's, a single bank statement for their joint account, a single pile of bills addressed to both of them, and finally a single tax return for our household. In our home, living together clearly meant sharing common interests.

Thirty years later,the "accounts evening " for most couples bears little resemblance to this childhood memory. More often than not, the table will be covered with two pay slips, two separate bank statements, sometimes accompanied by a third statement for the joint account used to pay for shared expenses when these are not divided directly between the two spouses. This change in practices reflects sociological changes in couples and families, and yet, amid this increasingly individualized paperwork, married and civil union couples still have one and the same tax return on the table.

A joint tax system that generates numerous inequalities within the couple. These inequalities remain hidden as long as the relationship is strong, but become all the more apparent when the couple breaks up.

So why does France's sacrosanct tax equality stop at the doorstep of couples and families? That is the question we are asking our guest today. Lise Chatain is a lecturer at the Faculty of Law and Political Science in Montpellier, and her work on tax equality has resulted in numerous publications.

In the second part of the program, we take you to the Faculty of Dentistry. François Bertrand shows us around the computer-aided design and manufacturing laboratory. And what do they make there? Teeth!

At UM Science, you have the program, so let's get started!

Production: University of Montpellier/Divergence FM
Host: Lucie Lecherbonnier
Interview: Aline Périault/Lucie Lecherbonnier
Reporting and editing: Lucie Lecherbonnier
Production: Adeline Floch’/Anna Demeulandre

Listen to the program “A LUM LA SCIENCE” on Divergence FM 93.9

Keywords: Science at UM, Law, Economy, WomenInScience, Medicine, Company