What People Are Saying
Kate Kendall
Sandy and I do our very best to raise our kids to live with integrity, power in the world and openness to what is possible. The core values we try to instill in Julian and Ariana are compromised every time we deny who Sandy and I are to each other and every time we diminish what we mean to each other. We will no longer participate in the government’s erasure of our relationship and our marriage. We want our kids to grow up with the courage to step out and step up, even if it is difficult or risky. For us, refusing to lie on our taxes is a straightforward, and pretty minor way to demonstrate that courage ourselves.
As a lawyer and a legal advocate for the LGBT community, I am often in a position to advise people to exercise great caution and to comply in most cases with the letter of the law, even when that means denying who we are. This is my small way of saying, where we can, we are not going to play the game anymore.
This May my same-sex partner and I have been together for 11 years and have raised three children into adulthood and just adpoted our four child and this year's taxes were a nightmare because we had to decide who was claiming our youngest and did that mean they also claimed the adpotion credits as well and hey let's throw in PFD since we are Alaskans. We have one in college as well to claim. We own a home, a business and bought a car jointly so deciding who will claim what on our taxes was a bloody nightmare. If we could have filed jointly the Federal government would have recieved more money from us and I would have paid that gladly rather than go though the weeks of figuring out how to honestly reports things to them without looking like we were lying, trying to hide or fraud the IRS. Plus what is the ethical values we teaching our children...its ok to lie about who you are and who your family is? I think not...Please help it stop.
Jo
From now on, I will also refuse to lie on my IRS tax return. I've been married for three years to a wonderful man and I'm tired of how ridiculously complex filing our taxes have become because of DOMA. No More!
Eric
After more than 30 years together, my husband and I got married in 2011. Now we are in quandry about what to do with our tax filing. My heart tells me to refuse to lie and file as married. That is the true and honorable thing to do. I don't lie on my tax returns. My mind asks, what kind of problems am I taking on if I do tell the truth?
Bert
It is time to treat us equally. Your refusal to accept our relationships is shameful and a denial of equal protection.
jody
This and the taxes imposed on domestic partnership health benefits are two of the most ridiculous ways the government sees fit to impose itself on gay people!
Regina
I am a straight single man and I am outraged that my government does this. I will stand with you any way I can.
I would also like to know where is the support from all the "states rights" people? This is very clearly a states rights issue!
Josh
well, I am not married nor gay, but I will totally stand with you all and support this action. it is UNBELIEVABLE to me that this is still an issue. Also, I cannot in any way, shape, or form, support lying & denying rights because of judgments about who someone wants to unite with. peace.
tracy
I am legally married and based on the District Court ruling that DOMA is unconstitutional this year my wife and I REFUSED TO LIE on our taxes. Thank you for organizing this cause.
- Toby
Toby
As long as we act like sheep and just go along with the IRS' and US governments' indignation and refusal to recognize gay couples as married, we will continue to not receive the 1,138 legal financial protections that straight married couples receive automatically, and probably are not even aware of. EQUALITY NOW!.
George
As a tax attorney and former IRS agent I have been studying the IRS
ban on the filing of joint tax returns by legally married gay and
lesbian couples very closely. My studys have convinced me that
this ban violates several provisions of the U.S. Constitution and is
absolutely illegal.
First, the basic American legal precept of equal protetion before the
law is torn to shreds by this ban. In essence the ban says that
only male/female marrieds can file joint returns. If this is not a
violation of equal protection then nothing is.
Second, the ban violates the due process clause of the 5th Amendment
by forcing a legally married same-sex couple to file 2 single returns
at a higher tax rate than 1 joint return. The excess tax the couple
is forced to pay amounts to a taking of property without any hearing or due process. Checking a box on a return is not due process.
Finally, the ban does not conform with the 10th Amendment which gives states the right to make their own marriage laws. For over 200 years the U.S. government has recognized as valid any marriage that a state has recognized as valid. A mere legislative act such
as DOMA can not overturn a right arising from The Constitution.
While the 16th Amendment gives Congress vast powers it does not permit interference with other rights arising from the Constitution, especially rights arising from the Bill of Rights that was passed
more than a 100 years before the 16th Amendment.
I feel so strongly about how wrong, illegal and discriminatory the
ban is that I would be happy to represent any legally married
same-couple who have filed jointly and are being audited by the IRS
because of it free of charge, this includes representation before
the U.S. Tax Court.
Even better, I would like to represent a legally married same-sex
couple who are willing to file a joint return in a very public way, in effect challenging the IRS to audit them. If the IRS does not examine their return it could then by contended they do not intend
to enforce the ban and they have waived their right to do so.
Any eligible couple who wants to be a part of history and help end
this odious ban can contact me by Email at: lstaxatty@aol.com or by
phone at (818) 716-6061.
Louis Samuel
Los Angeles, CA
