LGBTQ news and entertainment
Some news items you might have missed: • AP News: Switzerland will recognize same-sex marriages from other countries beginning January 1. And starting July 1, the Alpine nation will allow gay and lesbian couples to wed. Continue reading “News Round-Up: November 17, 2021”
In this week’s podcast:
• White House hopeful Elizabeth Warren has proposed allowing same-sex married couples be allowed to file amended tax returns for refunds
• A Texas couple found a touching note on their porch during Pride Month
• Terrorist threats at St. Louis Pride
• A wealthy Australian rugby player, stripped of his contract for homophobic social media, wants fans to pay his legal bills
• Pose star Billy Porter is getting a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
All that and more on this episode of The Randy Report
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| Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) |
Massachusetts Senator and presidential hopeful Elizabeth Warren has proposed a plan to allow married same-sex couples to possibly recoup some of the taxes they paid before the federal government recognized marriage equality.
Warren recently re-introduced her proposal, titled ‘The Refund Equality Act,’ in the U.S. Senate.
Originally introduced by Warren in 2017, the goal of the legislation would be to allow same-sex couples to file amended tax returns in order to collect funds they paid when they were legally married but not allowed to file as married couples.
Current law allows Americans to file amended returns reaching back as far as three years, but Warren’s proposal would give same-sex married couples the right to re-file returns for the entire period the couple has been married.
In a statement, Warren said, “The federal government forced legally married same-sex couples in Massachusetts to file as individuals and pay more in taxes for almost a decade.”
It wasn’t until marriage equality became law that gay & lesbian couples could jointly file tax returns—so they paid more in taxes. Our government owes them more than $50M for the years our discriminatory tax code left them out. We must right these wrongs. https://t.co/OZQcfVilSs— Elizabeth Warren (@ewarren) June 23, 2019
In 2004, Warren’s state of Massachusetts became the first in the nation to recognize same-sex marriage.
But it wasn’t until the 2013 ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court, U.S. v. Windsor, that the federal government (including the Internal Revenue Service) allowed LGBTQ married couples to access some of the tax advantages of being married.
For instance, I married my husband in 2003 in Toronto, Canada. While it was a beautiful, emotional day in my life, once we returned to the U.S. it was (in legal terms) largely ceremonial as it wasn’t recognized at home.
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| Michael and I getting married in Toronto in 2003 |
Living in California at the time, other than my using the actual term ‘husband’ to refer to my guy, it didn’t count for much in terms of legal standing until the state Supreme Court ordered same-sex marriages recognized in 2008.
Proposition 8 interfered with that, but after a long back and forth, we were allowed to keep our legal status. But, that’s another story…
But, as our marriage wasn’t recognized by the federal government, we continued to file our tax returns as “Single.”
Until – the Windsor decision.
Our accountant did take advantage of the new filing status, and I can tell you it made a BIG difference in our taxes.
CNBC reports that “married couples have access to higher standard deductions: $24,400 for joint filers in 2019, compared to $12,200 for singles.”
Additionally, couples who file jointly enjoy wider income tax brackets compared to singles.
That’s not to say every couple would benefit financially from refiling their returns.
Known as the “marriage penalty,” two spouses who have similar incomes might end up in a higher tax bracket.
But in the case of married couples where one spouse makes more/less than the other, the joint tax bill could be lower.
The Joint Committee on Taxation reported last week that perhaps $57 million could be reclaimed under Warren’s legislation.
Rep. Judy Chu (D-CA) has introduced the companion bill in the House as well.
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| Donald Trump |
Donald Trump promised a lot with his Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, but folks are finding their tax refund checks are getting smaller.
The IRS originally reported that tax refunds were averaging about 8% less than last year, but that figure has been revised to more than 16% less.
From Yahoo News:
The size of the average tax refund continues to drop, according to the latest IRS statistics. The IRS has found that Americans filing returns are now likely to see 16.7% less money than they received last year.
According to the data, the average refund size received in 2018 was $3,169 — while this year’s refunds have shrunk to $2,640.
Previous data released by the IRS showed that refunds had dipped by 8% on average. The refund size casts unfavorable light on the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), the Republican tax reform law championed by President Trump. The bill was criticized as an unnecessary win for large corporations and the rich, who saw their tax rates slashed and refunds increase.
Additionally, CBS News reports the number of tax refunds is down 26 percent.
Tax refund checks represent one of the biggest lump sum payments taxpayers get in a year. And as such, the funds usually add a boost to the economy.
With less or no refunds, economists are concerned about how this will play out in the U.S. economy.
Just remember, the Trumpster and multinational corporations will enjoy their own sweet tax cuts.