Science at UM [S01-ep17]: From Gender Tax Equality to the CAD/CAM Lab

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

This week on *A l’UM la science*, Lise Chatain, an associate professor in the School of Law and Political Science, tells us all about tax equality within couples. In the second half of the program, François Bertrand takes us on a tour of the CAD/CAM lab at the School of Dentistry.

To kick off today’s show, I’ve decided to share a childhood memory with you: “storytime.” Forget the wood fire and“Once upon a time”—I’m talking about that monthly gathering where, in cathedral-like silence, my brother, my sister, and I would watch our parents sitting around the living room table, brows furrowed and noses buried in the past month’s financial records. In front of them lay a single pay stub—my father’s—a single bank statement—for their joint account—a single stack of bills addressed to both of them, and finally a single tax return—for our household. In our home, living together clearly meant sharing a common interest.

Thirty years later,the “money talk ” of most couples bears little resemblance to that childhood memory. On the table, one is more likely to find two pay stubs and two separate bank statements, sometimes accompanied by a third statement for the joint account used to cover shared expenses when these are not directly split between the two partners. This shift in practices reflects the sociological evolution of the couple and the family, and yet, and yet, on the table of married or civil union couples, there still remains, amidst this increasingly individualized paperwork, a single tax return.

A shared tax system that creates many inequalities within a couple. These inequalities lie quietly hidden as long as the relationship is strong, but they come crashing to light when the couple breaks up.

So why does France’s sacrosanct principle of tax equality stop at the threshold of marriage and family life? That is the question we are exploring today with our guest. Lise Chatain is an associate professor at the Faculty of Law and Political Science in Montpellier, and her research on tax equality has resulted in numerous publications.

In the second half of the program, we’ll take you to the School of Dentistry. François Bertrand will show us around the computer-aided design and manufacturing lab. And what do they make there? Teeth!

At UM Science, you’ve got the program—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

Tune in to the show “A LUM LA SCIENCE” on Divergence FM 93.9

Keywords: Science at UM, Law, Economy, Women in Science, Medicine, Company