Eye Recommend --- Gay Marriages Get Recognition From the I.R.S.

Today marks my 500th blog entry; and it is one I couldn't be happier to publish...

Gay Marriages Get Recognition From the I.R.S., by Annie Lowrey --http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/30/us/politics/irs-to-recognize-all-gay-marriages-regardless-of-state.html?hp&_r=0

This makes me so happy!

"All same-sex couples who are legally married will be recognized as such for federal tax purposes, even if the state where they live does not recognize their union, the Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service said Thursday.

It is the broadest federal rule change to come out of the landmark Supreme Court decision in June that struck down the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act, and a sign of how quickly the government is moving to treat gay couples in the same way that it does straight couples...

...As of the 2013 tax year, same-sex spouses who are legally married will not be able to file federal tax returns as if either were single.  Instead, they must file together as 'married filing jointly' or individually as 'married filing separately.'...

...As long as the marriage is legal: a same-sex couple who marry in Albany, N.Y., and move to Alabama are treated the same as a same-sex couple who marry and live in Massachusetts...

...Treasury Secretary Jacob J. Lew said, 'This ruling...assures legally married same-sex couples that they can move freely throughout the country knowing that their federal filing status will not change.'"

The article goes on to talk about how filing state income taxes will be more difficult in states that do not recognize same-sex marriages, (like my home state of Ohio), since most state tax calculations use federal returns as their starting point. Those states will have to make some changes.

"Nanette Lee Miller of Marcum L.L.P., a public accounting firm (says) she sees it as a paperwork bother more than a financial issue...

...The ruling applies to all legal marriages made in the United States or foreign countries."

Which is good news for my friends Matthew W. and David B. who were legally married in Canada.

"Separately, the Health and Human Services Department said Thursday that Medicare would extend certain key benefits to same-sex spouses, 'clarifying that all beneficiaries in private Medicare plans have access to equal coverage when it comes to care in a nursing home where their spouse lives.'...

...Medicare and Treasury officials said they would use a 'place of celebration' standard for determining whether gay couples are eligible for benefits...

...But the Social Security Administration is now using a 'place of residence' standard in determining spousal benefits, and a gay couple in Alabama might not receive the same benefits as a gay couple in New York until final determinations are made or Congress acts.  The Obama administration has pushed federal agencies to ensure the Supreme Court's ruling is carried out quickly and smoothly."

I expect that the SSA will move to a "place of celebration" standard to stay consistent with other federal agencies and that can't happen soon enough.

Friends and I were discussing--and yes, celebrating--this news last night and my friend David McC., who has been with his partner 35 years, said he saw this as the beginning of the end for LGBT inequality and that he had never expected to see this in his lifetime.  The happiness and peace on his face made me want to cry.

I expect there will screams of outrage coming from conservative bastions, and to them I can only say:  Your time is past.  In this age, we will say "that all men are created equal."