Elizabeth Warren is fighting to give same-sex couples a tax refund

"It wasn’t until marriage equality became law that gay & lesbian couples could jointly file tax returns - so they paid more in taxes."

Elizabeth Warren

Elizabeth Warren wants to repay those in same-sex marriages who were forced to pay extra tax. Source: Boston Globe

US Senator Elizabeth Warren is on a mission to pay same-sex couples back for years of discriminatory taxation - and, as usual, she has a plan to get it done.

The 2020 Democratic presidential candidate has re-introduced the in the Senate, a bill that would make it possible for same-sex couples to file joint amended tax returns for the years they were married but denied recognition by the federal government. 

"It wasn’t until marriage equality became law that gay & lesbian couples could jointly file tax returns - so they paid more in taxes," Warren tweeted on June 23.

"Our government owes them more than $50M for the years our discriminatory tax code left them out.

"We must right these wrongs."
Having previously introduced the Refund Equality Act to the Senate in 2017, Warren is hoping to have more luck this time round.

The matter is close to home for the Massachusetts Senator.

Warren's home state was the first in the US to recognise same-sex marriage way back in 2004. However, up until the 2013 U.S. v. Windsor Supreme Court decision, these marriages were essentially ignored by the federal government, meaning those in same-sex marriages were required to file their taxes as though they were single - often paying more.

While the US federal government already allows citizens to file amended tax returns for up to three years after they originally filed, the Refund Equality Act would allow same-sex couples who were married before 2013 to file for the entire time that they were married - which, for some in Massachusetts, could be as long as nine years.

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2 min read
Published 25 June 2019 12:34pm
Updated 25 June 2019 2:13pm
By Samuel Leighton-Dore


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