what are the breaks married couples get (ie: tax breaks and whatnot)?

Question

I'm trying to understand the whole big controversey about same sex marriges.... i know enough to know that the religion thing is just a ploy to get us to agree with the people running the show, but like almost everything it has to do with money, what i wanna know is exactly how much money and why?

Answer 1

In reference to gay marriage, the main ones we are fighting for are:

* Inheritance rights - property goes to your spouse
* Health beneficiary rights - like adding your spouse onto your ins. policy because they are considered immediate family
* Immigration rights for our spouses - the right for a spouse to become a citizen
* Tax dependent rights - being able to claim your spouse as a dependent, file jointly, etc...
* Next of kin rights - IE, (this really has happened), families of gay ppl have actually banned significant others from hospitals and funerals because the significant other has no rights of kinship.
* Rights to child parentage - say one partner dies and she was the actual mother of the child that the two of them raised say 10 years together. The significant other has no rights as a parent to continue raising the child and the child would be sent to relatives.


There is more but they get very detailed and into specifics.

Answer 2

This is just my understanding of the whole thing and it could be inaccurate or others may have other ideas but I'll share what I think I know and others can critique. 1) Married couples filing taxes in the US jointly are taxed at an overall lower rate than they would be if they filed their tax returns separately as single people or as married filing separately. 2) Medical coverage can be affected in a number of ways, small employers subsidizing health insurance for a single individual cost the employer less than the subsidy for family coverage. For instance if both parties worked for the same store and the store covered half of the cost of medical insurance then ten two people would be contributing to the premium base. Once they united as a family the store would only collect one premium and it typically would not be double. Many large employers already recognize spousal equivalents for the purposes of benefits eligibility. 3) Various insurances and Social Security include spousal survivor benefits. These benefits and their subsequent costs would not extend to "unmarried" couples.
Some people opposing same sex marriages have made arguments that the cost of allowing these marriages would place an unsustainable strain on the US economy and tax base.

That's all I know about it. Its not really an issue that has grabbed my attention but I hope this ends up either being helpful or stirring further discussion for you.

Answer 3

Married couples get almost a thousand specific state benefits (varies per state), plus almost 500 specific federal benefits.

Survivors benefits, family medical insurance, income tax breaks, community property ownership, exemption from estate and gift taxes, Social Security/disability benefits, paid family leave during spousal illness, division of property upon separation, family rates for health/auto insurance, tuition discounts for family members, access to facilities based on spousal membership, etc. All together, these can add up to tens of thousands of dollars per year or more.

Then there are the non-financial benefits. Visitation rights in hospital or other facilities, spousal privilege in court, joint adoption, special property ownership rights, consenting to after-death examinations and procedures including burial arrangements, zoning exemptions for families living together, and dozens of specific legal protections that apply to spouses.

So, it's something of a big deal for many people.

{EDIT} Llammas brings up another important point, about the difference between marriage and civil unions.

If two people of opposite gender get marriages, all 50 states and many other countries will recognize that marriage, and all benefits are portable. However, the same is not true for same-sex marriage or civil unions or domestic partnerships.

In fact, states that have same-sex civil unions don't even recognize domestic partnerships or same-sex marriages. And the same in the reverse. So, it is truly a separate and massively unequal status, based purely on gender discrimination.

Answer 4

Above all else, civil unions (the alternative offered to same-sex couples in lieu of marriage) create a an unfair distinction between heterosexuals and homosexuals. Homosexuals are essentially being treated as second class citizens by our government because they are denied the right to marry (and civil unions, unlike marriages, are not federally recognized).

As far as benefits go, married couples are eligible to file joint tax returns, be covered by their spouse's insurance, and receive benefits after death. In the 48 states that deny marriage to homosexual couples, the option of covering a same sex partner through insurance is left to employers, who often will not due to the cost involved.

Life insurance is another major issue. Since many same sex couples co-habitat for a life time, it can be a huge financial blow when one of them dies....not to mention the fact that since they are not legally named as a spouse, a same-sex partner can even be denied the right to see their significant other in a hospital because they are not immediate family.

So...to my understanding, the issue is not only money, but equal rights. I hope this helps.

Answer 5

Taxes married couples file joint returns and get a better tax rate.
In the workplace when you sign up for benefits like health insurance you are only suppose to include husband/wife and dependents. Some companies allow domestic partners to share benefits this is not just for gays but men and women who live together.