David G. Trump ally Stephen Bannon indicted on contempt charges over Capitol riot inquiry. Biden and Xi to hold virtual summit Monday to discuss tensions. Democrats call for censure of GOP congressman over violent video of Rep. All Sections. About Us. B2B Publishing. For federal tax purposes, Section 3 of DOMA prevented same-sex married couples from claiming several benefits permitted to opposite-sexed married couples under the Internal Revenue Code.
With Section 3 ruled unconstitutional, the door has been opened for same-sex married couples to claim those advantages under the Internal Revenue Code.
In fact, Windsor is a case about whether a same-sex surviving spouse is entitled to a refund of estate taxes that were paid because under Section 3 of DOMA the surviving spouse could not claim the marital deduction for federal estate tax purposes. The question is how far has the door been opened to claim the tax benefits or in some instances the tax penalties of marriage? Without a federal definition of marriage or spouse, the assumption is that the terms will now be defined by state law.
The widow in Windsor was married in Canada which recognized same-sex marriages at the time of the marriage and living with her spouse in New York which also recognizes same-sex marriages at the time her spouse died. However, not all states recognize same-sex marriages. And the Windsor decision leaves unanswered the question of what would have happened if the couple had lived in a state that did not recognize same-sex marriages. Finally, a brief summary of state laws on same-sex marriage is provided.
DOMA does not prohibit states from allowing same-sex marriage or civil unions. The first case involved individual plaintiffs attempting to claim benefits for their same-sex spouses and asserted that DOMA prohibited equal protection under the law. In Goodridge v. The individual plaintiffs cited disadvantages from not being able to file joint federal tax returns or collecting Social Security survivor benefits. The two cases were consolidated upon appeal to the First Circuit.
Gender classification cases are analyzed under a heightened or intermediate standard. Cases not involving suspect classifications are generally considered using rational-basis scrutiny. Accordingly, benefit plans offering coverage for same-sex spouses must still address drafting and imputed-tax issues.
Benefit plans that have not addressed coverage for same-sex spouses are not compelled by federal law to make benefits available. In Windsor v. District Court for the Southern District of New York ruled that Section 3 of DOMA is unconstitutional as applied to the plaintiff, who filed suit to recoup estate taxes on the assets she inherited from her same-sex spouse in a marriage recognized by New York state, but for which she was not granted the spousal deduction by the Internal Revenue Service.
In Golinski v. Office of Personnel Management , F. The appeal in Golinski is pending. Also in the Northern District of California, in the case of Dragovich v. After the U. Supreme Court decides whether or not it will grant review of one or more of the DOMA lawsuits, those cases will be fully briefed and argued to the Supreme Court.
There will also certainly be multiple friend-of-the-court briefs filed on both sides. Assuming the Court acts to grant review in November, the argument date will likely be in March. In the DOMA cases the plaintiffs are already married and are simply asking the Supreme Court to require that the federal government respect their marriages for purposes of all federal statutes and programs.
A win in one of the DOMA cases would mean that the federal government has to respect the existing marriages of same-sex couples, but would not force any new states to let same-sex couples marry. A win in the Prop 8 case would at a minimum require California to start allowing same-sex couples to marry again, and could affect either some other states or even all states that do not currently allow same-sex couples to marry. Skip to main content.
Events Shop. Search form Search. West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming.
0コメント