“Today, what we know is that 55 of every 100 pesos (of personal income tax deductions) goes to men with the highest incomes, that is, men in the X decile,” said Carlos A. Brown, director of Knowledge and Justice. Prosecutor at Oxfam Mexico.
Among the factors behind it is the income gap between men and women, but also the differences in how income is obtained, for example, women are more dependent on jobs and personal activities, he explained.
Another reason is “the lack of participation of women in the labor market; Fewer women are registered in the Tax Administration Service (SAT) and, if they do not have to submit the annual income tax return, they cannot submit those deductions,” added Alejandra Macías, executive director of the Center for Economic and Budgetary Research (CIEP).
“These are structural issues of our labor market, which have to do with how you encourage female labor participation so that they can have access to those deductions,” he added.
In Mexico, nine out of every 10 people who do unpaid work in homes are women, said Carlos Brown.
Among the items in which men obtain more deductions are: real interest on mortgage loans, school transportation expenses, insurance premiums for medical expenses, as well as tuition, special savings accounts and medical expenses for disability and incapacity, sane with the report Collection resignations 2024 of the Ministry of Finance and Public Credit (SHCP).
Meanwhile, women make more deductions related to care: contributions to retirement subaccounts, medical expenses and funeral expenses.
“There is evidence that women do go to the doctor and men do not; “Women live longer than men,” said Macías.
“To whom we leave care, even care after death, is the women. That says a lot about the social allocation that we have made of care,” said Brown.
