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AS TAX TIME APPROACHES, INJUSTICE LOOMS LARGE FOR LGBT PEOPLE


When April 15 approaches, we at Equality Maryland tend to hear from our members about the unfair tax penalties the government levies on LGBT people. Equality Maryland shares your outrage – and we are making sure legislators know just how unfair this is.

In the past few weeks, Equality Maryland has worked to move forward legislation that will address these inequities, and we have organized groups of our members to relay their experiences to legislators during the bill hearings. In another month, we hope some of the unfair taxes levied by the government on people just because of their sexual orientation will be a thing of the past.

Take the case of Ellen Carr of Howard County, who told legislators that after her partner of more than twenty years, Judi, passed away in 1999, the government assessed a whopping $60,000.00 inheritance tax on the jointly owned house, joint accounts and investments – a tax she wouldn't have had to pay had she been married to a man! Judi had worked for the federal government for years, but Ellen wasn't entitled to her pension or social security benefits.

"We had no idea of how inheritance taxes would affect us," Ellen testified. "Our wills were written by an attorney. We felt we were doing all we needed to do to protect our assets. And we believed that the laws would treat us fairly. We were naive and very wrong. I was taxed on money that I contributed to and helped to fund. The laws separated us in death and did not allow me the opportunity to decide how I would use the money that Judi imagined I would receive from her inheritance."

Paul Gordon of Montgomery County told legislators that he still isn't listed on the deed to the home that he shares with his partner because of the prohibitive transfer taxes that same-sex couples have to pay, but that married couples and a slew of other relatives are exempt from.

"My partner Rick and I met back in 1992, a couple of years after he'd bought a house in Silver Spring," Paul testified. "That house – our home – is still in his name only. And I live in fear that I could lose it if something happened to him. In 2005, I told a House committee how Rick and I had just spent three weeks as a family with his mother in intensive care and decided as a family to end her life-support. But Maryland says that Rick and I are not a family. Maryland says we are no different than two total strangers. And when I testified in 2005, Maryland was forcing us to choose: If we wanted to put my name on the title of our home, that meant we could not afford a gravestone for Rick's mother. We picked the gravestone, and three years later, I still have no ownership interest in my own home, and I could lose it if something happens to Rick," Paul stated. He added, "Current law imposes a financial punishment on innocent families and puts us at risk of losing our homes. It's cruel. It's wrong. And you can put a stop to it."

LGBT people are taxed unfairly by the government in so many ways. If we're lucky enough to receive healthcare benefits for our partners, we are taxed on those domestic partner benefits as income, unlike spousal benefits. If we want to add a partner to an automobile title, unlike spouses, we must "sell" half of the car to our partners and pay the resultant taxes. The list of unfair taxes on LGBT individuals and families is long. And yet, we all must continue to pay a significant portion of the fruits of our labor into a system that doesn't recognize our most basic legal protections and forces us to pay time and time again for privileges that heterosexual couples automatically have.

As we pave the way to marriage equality, Equality Maryland is actively working in Annapolis to right many of these wrongs. We are moving a bill forward that would eliminate the unfair inheritance tax for domestic partners, and we’re working on another bill that would end the real estate transfer tax that targets LGBT families.

At tax time, please consider supporting Equality Maryland's work to end these unfair taxes that place a burden on our families.

For those of you receiving a tax refund this year, why not invest some of your refund in an organization that is investing in our future? Even if you're not receiving a refund, please consider making a donation to Equality Maryland. We are working to make sure that there's equity between the taxes you are paying and the legal rights and protections that all residents deserve.

During this tax season, please take a moment to think about what you can contribute to Equality Maryland so that we can make sure that our government and community protects and values all of its citizens.

In partnership and equality,

Dan Furmansky