Imputed income as child support income for liable parents

Although the child support payable by a liable parent is calculated by a gender-neutral formula, the effects of this may not be gender-neutral. This is because the circumstances may follow gender-specific patterns. The formula considers "child support income", which is predominantly earned income.

There is an presumption, implicit in the Matrimonial Property Act, that although in a relationship the woman are likely to earn less than the man, their contributions are "equal". This is because of the greater share of unpaid work that the woman is assumed to do. In other words, there is an exchange of the results of unpaid work by the woman for the results of paid work (i.e. income) by the man.

Child support income ignores unpaid work and considers only the paid work component. A man in a relationship is effectively paying a woman for the results of (a share of) her unpaid work. His actual assessed income is therefore greater than his income net of this payment.

On the other hand, a woman is effectively receiving income from her new partner in exchange for some of her unpaid work. If she is the liable parent, this is not included in her child support income, and so her assessed income understates her true effective income. Her child support liability would therefore be too low. The child support formula's use of living allowances, rather than acknowledging this phenomenon and the fact that she has less need to earn as she can provide "unpaid" services instead, serves to further reduce her child support liability in exactly the same way that it would for a man, who may find that he has to increase his earnings to support the increased number of dependents.

This would suggest that some consideration of the income of the liable parent's partner would be appropriate under some circumstances, particularly where the liable parent is a woman. With an appropriate adjustment, consideration of the liable parent's imputed income or outlay in relation to unpaid work could be made.

There are some situations (administrative reviews, for example) where the custodial parent's income is also considered. Imputed income is also relevant for these.

Stuart Birks

31 May, 1996