Legislation from two Democratic state senators proposes a change in Ohio’s tax laws to allow same sex couples to file joint tax returns in Ohio, despite a ban in the Ohio Constitution on recognition of gay marriage.
The bill, introduced by Sens. Michael J. Skindell of Lakewood and Charleta B. Tavares of Columbus, is in response to quirks in Ohio’s tax laws caused by the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision on the federal Defense of Marriage Act.
As a result of that court decision in June, the federal government now recognizes legally-performed marriages without distinctions based on gender preferences. That means that same sex couples in Ohio, legally married in another state, can file their federal taxes under the status of married filing jointly.
Ohio law precludes the state from following suit. A constitutional amendment that voters approved in 2004 specifically defined marriage as between one man and one woman, and barred the state from recognizing any other marriages as valid.
As a result, in October the state Department of Taxation issued instructions for those couples on how to separate their joint federal return into individual state tax returns.
Skindell, in an interview Wednesday, said that puts extra costs on the same sex couple that hires someone to prepare their taxes.
That’s because after figuring the joint return for the federal filing, the preparer will have to figure separate return totals for use in computing the state income tax.
“Now you have to pay your accountant to prepare a dummy federal return so you can prepare your state tax return,” Skindell said. In effect, he said, the same sex couple would have to pay to have their taxes done twice.
Tavares, in a statement, said the law change is needed as a matter of fairness.
“We should not unduly penalize our constituent households with more costly and time-consuming tax preparation,” she said in a statement. “This legislation will ensure that our tax policies are fair, just, equitable and right for all of Ohio’s taxpayers.”
If enacted, there could be a question about whether the law would be constitutional.
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