With the discriminatory Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) still on the books and marriage equality a reality in only six states and the District of Columbia, millions of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Americans will once again file tax returns as second-class citizens. The Human Rights Campaign, the nation’s largest LGBT civil rights organization, is educating Americans about the unfair tax burden faced by the LGBT community due to the few states where their relationships are recognized and the federal prohibition on recognition because of DOMA. Discriminatory tax laws will cost LGBT families significantly more in taxes, and will deny them access to a whole range of federal benefits.
“Tax day is hard enough but discriminatory laws exacerbate the burden on LGBT Americans,” said HRC President Joe Solmonese. “Even for couples who are legally married, DOMA denies them equal rights and dignity that all families deserve.”
To raise awareness of the inequities same-sex couples face on tax day, HRC today released an issue brief on Federal Taxation, illustrating how same-sex couples are denied equal treatment under the tax law, are forced to spend more time and money filing their taxes, and face inconsistent interpretation and enforcement of IRS guidance and practice related to adoption. The document is available at: http://www.hrc.org/files/assets/resources/IssueBrief_FederalTaxation.pdf.
HRC will be releasing a fact of the day on unfair taxation and encouraging supporters to use Facebook and Twitter to spread the message using the hashtag #gaytax. Particularly supporters should tweet to House Speaker John Boehner (@speakerboehner) and Majority Leader Eric Cantor (@ericcantor) their personal stories of tax inequality. Boehner and Cantor continue to defend the discriminatory Defense of Marriage Act in court at a cost of hundreds of thousands of dollars in taxpayer funds.
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