Senate Finance Committee chair Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, and Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, are reintroducing bipartisan legislation to eliminate gender-specific spousal references in the Tax Code and protect LGBTQ+ Americans from discrimination.
The bill, known as the Equal Dignity for Married Taxpayers Act, was cosponsored by 43 other members of the Senate and was announced Monday, on the 10-year anniversary of the Supreme Court ruling in United States v. Windsor enshrining marriage equality under U.S. law.
“Marriage equality is the law of the land, but the Tax Code still reflects the discrimination of yesteryear. It’s long past time for that to change,” Wyden said in a statement. “Recent history has proven that the Supreme Court is perfectly willing to uproot legal precedent and defy the will of large majorities of the American people in ways that roll back key individual rights. The Congress cannot take issues like marriage equality for granted. We have a responsibility to protect all aspects of marriage equality, including the economic benefits, in black letter law.”
Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg
In the Windsor ruling, the justices struck down the section of the Defense of Marriage Act that defined “marriage” as a legal union between one man and one woman. Two years later the court ruled that same-sex couples have a constitutional right to marriage by striking down state-level bans on such marriages.
In 2016, the Treasury Department reflected this decision by finalizing rules allowing federal joint filing for same-sex couples. The bill adds to these efforts by ensuring U.S. tax laws offer equal treatment to all married taxpayers. Rep. Becca Balint, D-Vermont, is introducing a companion bill in the House.
“This bipartisan legislation takes an important step towards modernizing our Tax Code to reflect the equal rights and dignity that all married couples enjoy under the law, including the Respect for Marriage Act that I co-authored last year,” Collins said in a statement. “This bill is another important step to promote equality and prevent discrimination.”
Tax deadline simplification
Separately, the American Institute of CPAs expressed its support for another bill, H.R. 3708, the Tax Deadline Simplification Act, in a letter last week to members of the House. In the letter, the AICPA commended Rep. Debra Lesko, R-Arizona, and Brad Schneider, D-Illinois, for their efforts to simplify the quarterly installments for estimated income tax payments by individuals.
Currently, small-business owners and individuals are required to pay quarterly estimated tax payments April 15, June 15, September 15 and January 15. The AICPA noted that the spacing between these dates does not tie to traditional quarters, which can cause confusion for many individuals, including self-employed individuals, and create challenges to compute and pay timely.
The AICPA supports pushing back the due dates for estimated tax payments, pointing out that changing the June 15 and Sept. 15 dates to July 15 and Oct. 15, respectively, would space the dates evenly three months apart and more closely tie to the normal quarter date, which is traditionally 15 days after the quarter end. The change would make it easier for taxpayers to meet their tax obligations in a timely manner.
“As we continue to look for ways to simplify and improve tax administration in a constantly-changing environment, the AICPA believes that this simple adjustment will be a benefit to taxpayers, including those who are relatively new to filing and paying quarterly estimated taxes,” said Peter Mills, senior manager for tax policy and advocacy at the AICPA, in a statement Monday. “Aligning the dates with calendar quarters will help to facilitate greater and more timely tax compliance.”
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