DOMA Challenge in Federal Tax Court
Charles Merrill, millionaire and cousin of the co-founder of Merrill Lynch, joined by Kevin Boyle, his partner of 16 years, is making a challenge to the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), according to Pam's House Blend. DOMA, the 1996 statute permitting the federal government to ignore same-sex marriages performed by states, has been challenged in federal court before, but Merrill's case marks the first time the discriminatory law has been attacked in tax court.
Merrill has not paid federal income taxes since 2004 as part of an on-going protest against DOMA and the inequalities gay and lesbian couples face in the United States tax code. Merrill, who legally married his partner in California prior to the passage of Proposition 8, argues that DOMA is unconstitutional because states, not the federal government, have the power to define marriage. According to Merrill, "the government has no business in checking out the gender of two people who want to be married."
The litigation makes two points against DOMA: First, that federal tax benefits and obligations should not be restricted solely to opposite-sex couples to the exclusion of legally married same-sex couples, and second that DOMA's definition of marriage is based on religion, which violates the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment.
Merrill's case has been referred to Washington D.C. for an en banc hearing before all 19 judges on the United States Tax Court. Though the court is formally a part of the legislative rather than judicial branch of government, it has previously resolved constitutional issues in other cases. The challenge may be appealed to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and then to the US Supreme Court for final adjudication.
A court date has not yet been set.
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