111 S. Elm Street

North Manchester, IN 46962-1723

March 14^th^, 2005-03-14

The President\'s Advisory Panel on Federal Tax Reform\
1440 New York Avenue NW Suite 2100\
Washington, DC 20220

Dear Panel Members:

I am writing with regard to fair treatment under the law for same-sex
couples in the United States of America.

In reforming the country's tax laws, I believe the government has a
responsibility to draft equitable legislation.

My own partner visited this country last year. While he was here, he
needed to visit the doctor. Had we been a heterosexual couple, I would
be entitled to claim his medical expenses as a deduction on my tax
return. Because I am not heterosexual, I was discriminated against under
the existing laws.

Same-sex couples regularly face inequitable treatment where taxation is
concerned. Consider the following, taken from the *Human Rights
Campaign* web site, for example:

[Adverse Tax Consequences for Same-Sex Couples]{.underline}

1.  **Health Insurance for Partners -** Employees pay income and payroll
    tax on the health insurance premiums their employers provide for
    domestic partners who do not otherwise qualify as dependents.
    Benefits for different-sex spouses are not subject to this tax.

2.  **Flexible Spending Accounts -**  Employees can use flexible
    spending accounts to pay for a different-sex spouse\'s medical
    expenses, including eyeglasses, prescriptions, and co-pays, on a
    pre-tax basis. These accounts cannot be used for a same-sex partner,
    or even a same-sex spouse.

3.  **Retirement Savings - Death and Taxes:**  Tax treatment of
    retirement savings, such as those found in 401(k) plans, privileges
    spouses and penalizes same-sex couples. This means that on the death
    of a partner, the surviving partner is left not only with the same
    emotional loss that a different-sex spouse experiences, but also
    with an unfair tax bill. This is problem is made even more acute by
    the fact that same-sex couples are denied survivors\' benefits under
    Social Security, even though they pay the same payroll taxes as
    heterosexual workers.

4.  **Estate and Gift Taxes -** Different-sex spouses get a complete
    exemption from estate and gift taxes. But same-sex partners, even
    ones who are married in Massachusetts or parties to civil unions in
    Vermont, are treated as strangers under the tax code. So when a
    partner dies, their estate is subject to taxation.

[Social Security - Adverse Consequences for Same-Sex
Couples]{.underline}

1.  **Equal Contribution, Unequal Benefits -** All GLBT people pay into
    Social Security on an equal basis with their heterosexual
    counterparts, but are not eligible for equal benefits.

2.  **No Survivor's Benefits -** Same-sex partners do not receive
    survivor's benefits when a partner dies, even though they pay for
    them equally.

3.  **No Disability Benefits -** Same-sex partners are not eligible for
    spouse\'s benefits when a partner becomes disabled, even though they
    pay equally into the program.

4.  **Children Are Left Unprotected -** Sixty percent of children being
    raised by same-sex couples live in a jurisdiction where
    second-parent adoption is unavailable, meaning that these children
    cannot secure a recognized legal relationship with one of their
    parents. When a parent dies without such a legal relationship, the
    surviving child is not eligible for surviving child benefits under
    Social Security, even though the deceased parent paid into the
    program, and even if the parent supported the child for her whole
    life.

5.  **When a Child is Legally Adopted by Same-Sex Partner, Benefits are
    Unavailable -** Social Security provides \"surviving parent\"
    benefits to the parent caring for a minor child when the other
    parent dies. But all children raised by same-sex couples are
    excluded from this benefit, even though their parents pay equally
    into Social Security, because it is only given to couples who are
    recognized as \"spouses\" under federal law, which same-sex couples
    are not. Even though the benefit is for children and not spouses,
    children being raised by GLBT people are denied it because their
    parents cannot marry.

If ours is indeed a nation that guarantees its citizens the right to
"life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness," I believe that our
government has a responsibility to ensure that this applies also to
same-sex couples. It is very difficult for me as a gay man to feel that
I am treated equally in the eyes of the law. I do not want "special
rights," but to have the same rights as everyone else. When my partner
is sick and needs to visit the doctor, I don't want to feel that I am
going to be shafted twice: (a) I can't marry him, and (b) I'm not going
to get a tax deduction.

I strongly encourage you to propose legislation that will reflect the
fact that gay citizens deserve equal treatment under the law,
recognizing that this is indeed "a nation of laws and not of men."

Sincerely,

Mark A. Spalding

\-\-\-\--Original Message\-\-\-\--

From: Mark Spalding
\[[[mailto:maspalding@earthlink.net]{.underline}](mailto:maspalding@earthlink.net)\]

Sent: Monday, March 14, 2005 1:23 PM

To: comments

Cc: field@hrc.org

Subject: Tax Reform

I have attached a letter which I would like to submit to the
President\'s Advisory Panel on Tax Reform. I believe that the tax laws
need to be restructured to make them fairer to same-sex couples.

Sincerely,

Mark A. Spalding