Apr 14, 2014
Equality NC Event Will Protest NC Tax Policies Targeting Same-Sex Couples
April 15th media event and rally will raise voices of those harmed by state’s discriminatory tax directives
RALEIGH, N.C. – Equality NC, the state’s largest LGBT advocacy organization will host a press conference and rally on Tax Day, Tuesday, April 15, at 4:30 p.m., in Raleigh (Pullen Memorial Baptist Church, 1801 Hillsborough, St. Raleigh, NC, 27605) to protest a new state tax policy targeting same-sex couples.
In October of last year, the N.C. Department of Revenue issued a directive stating that despite the IRS' allowance of same-sex spouses to file income taxes “married filing jointly” or “married filing separately,” they would not be allowed to do so on their state returns. The North Carolina policy not only runs afoul of federal tax directives, but has created added complication, confusion and costs to tax filings for potentially tens of thousands of North Carolina same-sex couples.
Equality NC’s hour-long Tax Day event – called #Married364: Ring Off & Renewal, referencing how same-sex couples must hide their “married” status on the day they file their taxes – will feature testimony from tax experts and families harmed by the policy, as well as other married couples who have chosen to stand in solidarity against these tax laws.
RSVP to attend #Married364: Ring Off & Renewal on Facebook.
Speakers include:
Chris Sgro
Executive Director, Equality NC, Raleigh, NC
P: (919) 829-0343 ext. 111, E: csgro@equalitync.org
Richard deButts, CPA
deButts, Campbell & Roberts, PLLC, Raleigh, NC
P: (919) 235-0606, ext. 7007
Marie Baker & Amanda Niles Baker
Married, same-sex couple from Durham, NC
Eva Feucht & Jason Horne
Newly-married, allied couple from Raleigh, NC
Rev. Nancy Petty
Pullen Memorial Baptist Church in Raleigh, NC
Equality NC and hundreds of petitioners have already asked Gov. Pat McCrory to follow the lead of other similarly-situated states like Missouri, Colorado, Utah, and Oregon, and sign an executive order directing the N.C. Dept. of Revenue to issue consistent guidance to all legally-married couples filing state taxes in North Carolina.
“By simply complying with federal directives as in previous years and providing a clear and uniform tax policy for all legally married couples in that state, states like Missouri and Utah, home to constitutional bans on marriage equality like Amendment One, avoided a confusing and inequitable tax policy that unfairly targets legally-marriage, same-sex couples in those states,” said Chris Sgro, executive director of Equality NC. “In light of these complications, we believe the North Carolina Department of Revenue should also issue guidance to all legally married couples –including North Carolina's same-sex couples who have legally married in other states – that they can file their state tax returns as married in the future. This will ensure more clarity, simplicity and transparency in North Carolina tax policy, as well as avoiding unnecessary inequity and confusion, potential compliance costs and lost revenue, as well as other economic burdens to the state.”
This event is the first in a series of Equality NC events in the organization’s “Marriage Spring” campaign drawing attention to North Carolina families harmed by marriage inequality.
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ABOUT EQUALITY NC: Equality NC is a statewide organization working to secure equal rights and justice for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender North Carolinians. For more information, visit www.equalitync.org.
[EDITOR’s NOTE: Opportunities for video, photos and in-person interviews with press conference participants are available following the event. Equality NC's executive director Chris Sgro is available for interviews prior to the press conference or at (919) 720-8204.]