When I read in Friday’s newspaper that a Israel’s Supreme Court had ruled that the country’s tax authorities must allow tax deductions for child care costs, my feelings were mixed. As the holder of a B.A. in public policy sciences, I winced. Wasn’t the Court inserting itself into a policy detail better left to planners in the executive branch and to the legislature? As the husband of a long-time child care provider, I was gratified. The highest court in the land had recognized the essential nature of Ilana’s work.
In today’s Ha’aretz, the newspaper’s legal commentator, Ze’ev Segal, offers a cogent explanation and defense of the Supreme Court decision. According to Segal,
The ruling admittedly overturned a well-entrenched norm that had been accepted by the tax authorities for years—namely, that such expenses should not be recognized for tax purposes. But a careful reading shows that the court was not seeking to assume the role of the “great reformer” who overturns the established order in cases where the legislator has refrained from taking action.