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(Sydney, Australia) A Sydney same-sex couple
is refusing to file tax returns until the government allows them to submit a
joint return as a married couple.
Australian Marriage Equality said the couple was
legally married overseas and in past years had been allowed to file jointly but
this year the Australian Tax Office changed its form, asking the sex of of
spouses.
After submitting their return on line it was
rejected. When they complained the men received a letter from the ATO saying
that under the Income Tax
Assessment Act of 1997 their marriage could not be recognized and that they were not
entitled to name each other as spouse on their returns.
Australian Marriage Equality did not name the
couple. Spokesperson Sharon Dane said the ATO decision was
discriminatory.
"Same-sex couples should receive the same treatment as opposite-sex
couples", she said.
The Tax Office says it is only following the
law.
In 2004 the federal government passed a law
defining marriage as a union between a man and a woman. Earlier this year the
Australian Capital Territory passed legislation giving same-sex couples most of
the rights of marriage (story)
but the bill was overturned by the federal government.
That action prompted the Human Rights and Equal
Opportunity Commission to begin an investigation into inequities faced by
same-sex couples. The commission has been holding hearings across the country.
Earlier this month at a stop in Brisbane the
mother of a gay man told commissioners the government is imposing an
apartheid-type situation on gay and lesbian couples. (story)
"The Federal Government is really persecuting
the gays for something they can't help," Shelley Argent said.
"It's like the South Africans. They
persecuted the blacks for something they couldn't help."
Meanwhile the ACT government has announced plans
to reintroduce a modified version of laws allowing for civil partnerships.
Public opinion has been slowly shifting in favor
of recognizing same-sex relationships and Prime Minister John Howard now has
suggested his government may look at ways of granting limited recognition to
same-sex couples. But Howard said he has no intention of repealing the ban on
gay marriage.
©365Gay.com 2006
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