These are just three of the more than 1,000 rights and responsibilities under federal law that same-sex couples are left without.
TAKE ACTION! On your W-2 form, item four lists how much Social Security tax was withheld from your 2002 wages. For a heterosexual married employee, that amount would go toward Social Security survivor's benefits for their spouse if they died. For same-sex couples, there is no such protection.
Write your members of Congress using the dollar amount of Social Security tax that was withheld from your 2002 paycheck to show them that, although you pay just as much as your married counterparts, you're being taxed more and receiving less.
To find contact information for your representative and
senators, just go to HRC's Online Action Center
and click on your state. Enter your ZIP code if you do not know who represents
you in Congress.
SAMPLE LETTER TO YOUR REPRESENTATIVE:
Dear Representative __________________:
Today is tax day, and I want to you to know that for some couples, tax day hurts a little more. In 2002, $XX was withheld from my earnings to go toward critical Social Security protections, including survivor's benefits. But when I die, my same-sex partner won't get those benefits because, under federal law, we're treated like strangers. A married person is guaranteed that security during the vulnerable time of losing a spouse.
This is just one of more than 1,000 rights and responsibilities under federal law that same-sex couples are left without. Unlike married couples, same-sex couples also face high tax penalties upon the death of a partner. And, if an employer offers domestic partner benefits, employees who take advantage of them will owe income tax on their partners' benefits – another tax which spouses avoid.
Please don't penalize my family. Two important pieces of legislation, the Tax Equity for Health Plan Beneficiaries Act (H.R. 935) and the Family Medical Leave Inclusion Act (H.R. 1430), would provide equality for same-sex couples in federal taxation and family medical leave policies. I urge you to support these bills.
Call Reps. Jim McDermott at (202) 225-3106 and Carolyn Maloney at (202) 225-7944 to sign on as co-sponsors. To find out more about tax and other inequities faced by same-sex couples and their families, visit www.hrc.org/familynet.
SAMPLE LETTER TO YOUR SENATORS:
Dear Senator __________________:
Today is tax day, and I want to you to know that for some couples, tax day hurts a little more. In 2002, $XX was withheld from my earnings to go toward critical Social Security protections, including survivor's benefits. But when I die, my same-sex partner won't get those benefits because, under federal law, we're treated like strangers. A married person is guaranteed that security during the vulnerable time of losing a spouse.
This is just one of more than 1,000 rights and responsibilities under federal law that same-sex couples are left without. Unlike married couples, same-sex couples also face high tax penalties upon the death of a partner. And, if an employer offers domestic partner benefits, employees who take advantage of them will owe income tax on their partners' benefits – another tax which spouses avoid.
Please don't penalize my family. Two important pieces of legislation have been introduced in the House, the Tax Equity for Health Plan Beneficiaries Act (H.R. 935) and the Family Medical Leave Inclusion Act (H.R. 1430), that address issues of equality for same-sex couples, the first in federal tax code and the second in family medical leave policies. I urge you to make the Senate a supporter of fairness by introducing similar legislation.
Call Barbara Menard, HRC's Deputy Director for Legislation, at (202) 628-4160 to find out how you can help. To find out more about tax and other inequities faced by same-sex couples and their families, visit www.hrc.org/familynet.