Capitol Hill Blue Forums Political Issues Politics In General Senate votes to repeal 'don't ask, don't tell'

Phil:

I don't understand the bit about including one half of income. I assume you are talking about Federal income tax returns. I include all of my wife's income since we file a joint return. But domestic partners cannot file a joint return, so far as I know. So how can they report half of their partner's income as theirs? Doesn't the partner declare it on his individual return? Does this mean that partner A files a tax return and reports half of partner B's income as hers while partner B files a tax return and declares half of partner A's income on her return.

Yes, DOMA prohibits a joint return, but you are correct that each reports on their individual return one half the income of the other.

I still don't understand; I'm not much on community property states, I admit. Does this mean that if A has income of $50K and B has income of $30K that A reports one half of his income and one half of his partner's income (his $25K plus B's $15K, while B reports $15k plus $25k from his partner?

Oh, wait. I just got a glimmer of understanding when I used partner in that last sentence (I think). Does this domestic partnership setup mean that they are a partnership similar to a business partnership where the income to the partnership is pooled? It never would have occurred to me that that is the case.

Seems to me that if there is really disparate income they would be better off this way since the higher earnings of one partner get taxed at the lower rate for the other partner.

Yes, that is what community property means. In a CP state, the earnings of each are owned by the other, so on an income tax return this is reflected in sharing each other's income.

Yes, for most this is a net saving in taxes, the only exception is is if one has only Social Security income because for some there is a limit on earnings before SS payments become taxable.

What do you think?

Maybe that women, overall, are the more fit of the species. I know that if men had to be saddled with menses and childbirth, humans would have died out a long time ago.

This may be of cultural interest to some. A butch lesbian has a very strong desire for a family: kids, wife, etc.

...but she will never get pregnant, herself. She may donate an egg and have it implanted in her wife and the wife usually donates one of her own eggs for a different child so that genetically the kids have the half the same genetics as the couple uses the same sperm donor.

Just an interesting side-note to this conversation.

Way too many generalizations in one sentence for me Rick. Lesbians are people and as such come in many varieties.

With some limitations

SEE: Rosie O'Donnell