Contact Attorney Richard Keyt: 480-664-7478|rk@keytlaw.com

Tax Issues for Same Sex Couples

Wall Street Journal: Same-sex couples can get married in five states and the District of Columbia—and in New York starting July 25. But the happily-ever-after part doesn’t necessarily extend to their personal finances.

Such couples still can’t file a joint federal tax return, share retirement benefits, shield each other’s assets from estate taxes or benefit from many other tax breaks provided through federal law.

As a result, same-sex couples who marry have to stay on guard, doing even more financial and legal planning, in some cases, than those who don’t choose to tie the knot.

No Right to Pay Taxes

Tax Prof Blog:  Guess?, Inc. co-founder Georges Marciano has lost his bid in Washington federal court for an order forcing the IRS to investigate his tax returns and liabilities.

Marciano had argued that the audit could reveal money owed to the government that he believes former employees mishandled. In dismissing the suit on Friday, U.S. District Court Judge Henry Kennedy Jr. noted that the property rights protected under the Fifth Amendment don’t guarantee anyone’s right to pay taxes.

Tax Friendly States for Retirement

Yahoo! Finance:  Where’s the best state for you to retire? Here’s a good place to start your search: These five impose the lowest taxes on retirees in the contiguous U.S., according to our research. All these retiree tax heavens exempt Social Security benefits from state income taxes. Many of them exclude government and military pensions from income taxes, too, or offer blanket exclusions up to a specific dollar amount for a wide variety of retirement income.

Freedom or Independence?

Mauled Again:  Today is Independence Day, though most people refer to it as “the Fourth of July holiday.” Late last week, while reading a news report about the rather inept manner in which the State of New York has tried to apply its mandatory e-filing requirement to Amish sects that don’t use electricity, let alone computers and the internet, I noticed that one of the individuals remarked that “it’s a free country.” That phrase, and ones like it, have been tossed about so cavalierly that too many people fail to realize that it’s not true. The United States is not a free country.

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