Too little money, too few mothers

Judge Magen Altuvia's ruling to the effect that part of working parents' outlays for child-care expenses is to be recognized for tax purposes is not going to have much of an impact on the bleak reality by which women do not work outside the home because they would have to spend more money for childcare than they would be likely to earn.

In a situation in which 60 percent of the working women in Israel earn a salary that is so low they do not reach the tax threshold, and in which the proportion of mothers working in part-time jobs is constantly increasing, recognition of child-care expenses is bound to affect only a very small part of the workforce.

When the payment to a day-care center is about NIS 1,800 a month, and the tax break for someone who earns the average wage will come to about NIS 200 - it is doubtful whether it is possible to talk about a revolution.

Israeli society transmits a message to mothers that they should have as many children as possible and also fulfill themselves in both studies and work if they are to be well-regarded and useful citizens. This expectation cannot be realized here, because Israel has a short school day, relative to all the countries of the West. It is not only a child in a day-care center who is a heavy economic burden on parents, so is a child in compulsory education. If school lets out at 1 P.M., and any arrangement for childcare after that costs thousands of shekels - the combination of raising children and working full time at a challenging job becomes impossible. It is usually the mother who is pushed into part-time job, or who entirely relinquishes a job.

Judge Altuvia's ruling was handed down only one week after proposed legislation of a similar nature was rejected by the Knesset - in a vote of 45 in favor and 50 against. Until such time as the Supreme Court rules otherwise, the ruling in the Tel Aviv District Court obligates the tax authorities, and the statement that they do not intend to honor it is illegal.

The ruling, despite the benefit it entails, is minor in significance, and it is doubtful it will change the face of the labor market, even on the margins. Nevertheless, it contains an important determination regarding the conditions necessary for creating income. The District Court has recognized child-care expenses as expenditure for purposes of income creation. In Spain, it has emerged that recognition of such expenses has increased the state's income and has paid off for the economy; however, in Spain there is also an extended school day.

As long as there are no free day-care centers, free education from an earlier age and above all a long school day - it will be difficult to bring about a revolution in the labor market and to see mothers of young children working in full-time and well-paying jobs. And as the state is cautious about increasing the budget and investing more in education infrastructures - most of the reforms being carried out are in the area of taxation that touches upon income, and not expenditures. Tax breaks, like the one established on Sunday by the District Court, will be helpful to people with high incomes, whereas investments in the education infrastructure would also benefit the lower-income brackets. Ultimately, even though the ruling sets a precedent with respect to recognition of the expenses of raising children, and in that sense constitutes a breakthrough of sorts in terms of legal thinking, it will not in itself lead to a sweeping change in the priorities of Israeli society.