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

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

This week on *AUM 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 welcomes us to 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-burning 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, their brows furrowed and their 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 common interests.

Thirty years later,“accounts night” for 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 alongside a third statement for the joint account used to cover shared expenses when they aren’t directly split between the two partners. This shift in practices reflects the sociological evolution of couples and families; and yet, and yet, on the table of married or civil union couples, amid this increasingly individualized paperwork, there still remains a single tax return.

A shared tax system that creates numerous inequalities within a couple. These inequalities lie quietly hidden as long as the couple’s love endures, but they come to light with all the more force when the relationship breaks down.

So why does France’s sacrosanct principle of tax equality stop at the doorstep of couples and families? 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 work on tax equality has resulted in numerous publications.

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

AtUM , you’ve got the schedule—let’s get started!

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

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

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