Originally published on Forbes.com Apr 15th, 2013
I’ve finally healed from my heartbreak over Ellen DeGeneres being gay and married to a woman and I am struck with another blow. Suze Orman is similarly withdrawn from the pool of my dream women. I was invited to a telephone conference this morning in which Suze led a discussion with experts from one of those big four firms (E & Y) on issues of marriage equality. The call was coordinated by the Respect for Marriage Coalition. Doing a little background, I found this clip from Piers Morgan
(I guess that movement to have Piers deported did not work out.) Anyway Suze talks about how DOMA mistreats her and K.T. Further research shows that she and Kathy Travis were married in 2010. So it goes. I keep telling my covivant that we miss out on a lot by not having a television, but CV remains unmoved.
During this call, coordinated by the Respect for Marriage Coalition, Orman discussed the financial challenges individuals face. Elda Di Re, Partner, Personal Financial Services Area Tax Leader, Ernst & Young LLP, discussed the challenges the company has seen as financial advisors, and also highlighted specific tips for same-sex couples on how to navigate the tax system. Karyn Twaronite, Americas Inclusiveness Officer for the global Ernst & Young organization and Ernst & Young LLP partner, addressed the business case for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) inclusiveness and what companies can do to help same-sex couples.
Suze Orman
Suze was the lady I remember from when I used to watch TV. She talked about how most people are “freaking out” about having to file today and about the 1,100 variations in the Tax Code that affect same-sex couples. Actually, I think most returns and extensions have already been filed. At least my phone is not ringing off the hook. The 1,100 or so that she was referring to is the number of items in the entire United States Code where benefits are impacted by marital status. They are not all tax related. Some, like pensions related to the Civil War, Indian Wars and Spanish American War are of very limited applicability. In her discussion she mentioned specifically taxes on health benefits, which she pegged at between $1,000 and $7,000 and the unavailability of IRA rollovers. She got rather passionate about the estate tax, which stands to cost her and K.T, millions, which is “absolutely ridiculous”.
Suze Calls For The Great Gay Migration
Once DOMA is overturned, which Suze sees as inevitable, she is thinking about all the complications that are presented by states not recognizing same sex marriages. She and K.T. were married in South Africa in 2010. Her recommendation to gay couples is to strongly consider moving to states that recognize same-sex marriage.
The Folks From E&Y
Elda Di Re more or less seconded Suze on the complications that same sex couples face having to prepare multiple versions of federal returns to deal with differences in federal and statement treatment of marriages. There is also the difficulties in sorting out exactly who income sources to and who gets to take deductions. I was able to ask her what she thought couples who benefit from being single should be thinking about. She indicated that getting their returns in before the DOMA decision might be the safest course, since it is “impossible” to say how the IRS will follow through on DOMA being overturned. We will have to pay close attention to the exact wording, since it is not out of the question that the overturn may affect registered domestic partnerships and civil unions.
Karyn Twaronite, the inclusiveness officer, talked about what companies can do to lessen the impact of DOMA. One of the most important things that she said E&Y does is to treat same-sex couples just like other married couples unlike some companies that require greater documentation for same sex couples. They also provide a gross-up to mitigate the extra tax on health benefits which runs about $5,500 per year at E&Y. E&Y also participated in a DOMA amicus brief highlighting the burdens DOMA creates for business.
I don’t know if there is going to be a large response to Suze’s call for gays heading to states that recognize their marriages. I can hope, though. You see I have this condo in Shrewsbury Massachusetts, but that’s a story for another day.
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