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(Washington) The Internal Revenue Service is
warning same-sex couples that they cannot file joint income tax returns even if
they were legally married in Massachusetts or Canada.
The IRS says it is basing its denial of joint
filings on Federal DOMA which restricts marriage to opposite-sex couples.
The warning follows a court ruling in Minnesota
where a federal judge Monday dismissed a lawsuit that was filed by a gay couple.
Jack Baker and L. Michael McConnell claimed they
deserved a tax refund because they were legally married and should be granted married taxpayer status.
McConnell had sought to change his taxpayer status to married, and claimed he
deserved a refund of nearly $800. The suit asked U.S. District
Judge Joan Ericksen for an order "declaring
plaintiff to be a full citizen who is lawfully married" in Minnesota.
In 1971, Baker and McConnell sued Hennepin County when they were denied a
marriage license. They lost that case - but while it was before the court they
managed to get a
marriage license in Mankato County and were married before a Methodist minister in
St. Paul.
Four years later the couple returned to court
seeking to force the Veterans
Administration to increase Baker's educational benefits, claiming McConnell was
a dependent spouse.
The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the
fundamental issues of joint tax status were the same as those raised regarding
veterans benefits.
That decision formed the basis for Ericksen's
ruling Monday which said that the earlier ruling barred the couple from "relitigating claims against the IRS."
Baker, a corporate attorney, said he would appeal.
A study last year shows that gay families pay on
average higher taxes and get fewer benefits. (story)
©365Gay.com 2005
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