LOVE AND TAXES

I decided this year to file my tax returns jointly, as a married couple, with my same-sex spouse. (We were married in Canada last year.) I don’t especially care whether that’s legal—I already mailed the return anyway, so that horse has left the barn. My question is whether I did the right thing. What do you all say?

—Two for One

Ruthless says: Where, may I ask, do you live? Your own private Idaho? Even if so, just the mention of Idaho ought to bring an even marginally aware homosexual back down to earth. Are we to assume you are filing in New York? From what I understand, it’s still undecided whether state taxes can be filed jointly by a same sex couple. Forget the federal ones. Remember that creepy Defense of Marriage Act? Prohibiting federal recognition of same-sex couples? Since only married couples can file joint federal tax returns, all gay and lesbian couples (including same-sex spouses in Massachusetts) must file federal taxes as individuals.

Some states besides Massachusetts do allow joint filing of state taxes between those in a civil union: Three cheers for California, Connecticut, Vermont, and Washington, DC (can’t say the same for Washington State—go figure). New Hampshire residents will be able to file jointly for 2008, starting next year in 2009, and quite possibly other states will soon follow. As to whether or not it’s the “right thing,” here’s a thought from a senior counsel at Lambda Legal Defense (a gay advocacy group):

“[New York] state law requires allowing same-sex couples who are married to file as married” and suggests they “consult with their tax advisers and note on their state tax forms that they are married and are filing as single ‘under protest.’

“People should not have to swear under penalty of perjury that they are something that they’re not.”

So, what’s up with New York? Why still undecided? Last I heard, it was in Eliot Spitzer’s hands…

The Gay Perspective: How should I know? Did you keep more money by filing jointly? If so, you did the right thing.

ETHICS, SCHMETHICS

I’ve been thinking about the City Honors scandal, in which the school’s principal wrote a report detailing the pressure applied on him by a school board member and senior school district officials to admit a student who he and his admissions people thought would not succeed in the school, and to change the way GPAs were calculated in a way that would benefit the daughter of one of those district officials. The principal is angry about the interference in the way his school is run. The fathers of both students are angry at the principal because their young daughters have been made public figures as a result of the report’s release to the media, which they both say was politically motivated—part of a continuing battle between some school board members and the superintendent of school. (The principal says the report, written at the behest of the school board and the superintendent, was never supposed to be public.) Everyone seems angry at the school board. Who behaved ethically here? Who should pay a penalty for whatever unethical behavior occurred? The whole thing seems like a mess to me.

—Yes, But So What?

Straight Shooter says: The real question that I’ve been thinking about is this: What is the intention of the school board? It is the responsibility of the school board to protect the interests of the students. The intention of the parents is to help their children succeed, but what if the parents are prominent in the school hierarchy, or in the political arena? Do these parents want success for their children so badly that they’ll forget the difference between right and wrong? In this instance it seems like everyone is out of order…the school principal is out of order, the school board is out of order, the Superintendent is out of order, the Buffalo News is out of order (at least the article was disjointed and hard to read). The poor students, one who received an undeserved honor; I’m quite sure her self-confidence will be out of order for some time, and the other who was in over her head…You are correct. The whole thing is a mess.

Ask Anyone is local advice by and for local people. Please send your questions for our panel of experts to advice@artvoice.com.