There’s movement both in Germany and in California to bring more fairness to the tax system for same sex couples, Dot429 reports:
Germany’s conservative government has become the latest administration to consider tax reform that would grant same-sex couples the same tax perks as heterosexual couples. This marks a dramatic policy shift for the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) Party following their December congress where a proposal of tax equality was rejected. This apparent shift in policy from Chancellor Angela Merkel demonstrates the growing momentum around Europe for equalizing tax laws. The move from Merkel is an indication that this issue is gaining broad support and would extend the CDU’s appeal ahead of Germany’s September election.
California’s Assembly Bill 362 aims to bring fairness to a situation whereby health benefits received by one same-sex partner from the other are taxed by the federal government as income. Then, when companies reimburse this tax to employees, the state taxes this reimbursement. The legislation, if passed, would provide a state tax exemption and would cover persons in a same-sex relationship who work for public entities or for private sector companies who opt in.
