I understand that raising children is a very expensive thing to do. What I do not understand is why that should have any bearing whatsoever on the income taxes paid.
Our current system discriminates against people without children. Not only do people get a slate of tax credits and deductions specifically just for having children, but they use larger amounts of just about all government resources, including resources specifically created for children or people with children.
One could even make a case that people with children should have to pay MORE taxes, because they use more taxpayer resources than people without. However, I believe that discriminates the other way.
Therefore, I believe the only ethical and fair system of taxation is one in which everybody pays the same percentage of his or her income in taxes, regardless of any demographic. A fine place to start on this are to remove all benefits for marriage and parenthood, and go from there.
