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wyrdough t1_itb1ign wrote

Reply to comment by forebill in Many countries have a "hidden welfare state" for incumbent homeowners, as governments subsidize homeowners through the tax system. The homeownership welfare state is strongest in the US and other Anglophone countries, but weakest in the Scandinavian countries. by smurfyjenkins

Not charging you as much tax as someone else with the same income is logically a form of subsidy. When we let people deduct childcare expenses, we are subsidizing parents. When we let people deduct medical expenses, we are subsidizing health. By allowing people to deduct student loan expenses, we are subsidizing higher education.

I'm not going to say that any of those are a bad thing, but they are certainly a thing easily distinguished from deductions for work-related/business expenses.

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