The American
Civil Liberties Union sent a letter to tax specialists
H&R Block on Tuesday, demanding the company change
its online tax preparation system to accommodate
Connecticut gay couples in civil unions, according to
an ACLU press release.
Jason Smith of
Hartford, Conn., attempted to file with his partner
of six years, Settimio Pisu, in January, but they were told
to prepare their forms in person or by phone because
the website does not include a form for civil unions.
The letter that
ACLU staff attorney Rebecca Shore sent to H&R Block
says the company is in violation of Connecticut
antidiscrimination laws by failing to provide civil
union couples the option of filing their taxes
online, as it does for married couples. Filing federal and
local taxes with a specialist would cost Pisu and Smith
$199.80.
"This is yet
another example of the many ways that civil unions just
don't live up to marriage," Smith said in the release.
"We're saving for a house and hoping to start a
family, so every penny counts right now."
Denies Sposato, a
spokesperson for H&R Block, told The
Advocate that the company was in the process of
evaluating adding domestic partner support to the online tax
preparation program.
"This is an
industry-wide issue affecting TaxCut and our competitors,
resulting from the federal government not recognizing the
domestic-partner filing status," she said in an email. "With
an online tax program, whatever the filing status is
on the federal return is automatically deployed to the
state return."
Users who are
registered domestic partners or in civil unions are asked
to work with a tax professional because interaction enables
them to prepare several tax returns simultaneously,
which Sposato said is a feature that is not currently
available with any online tax programs.
"In addition,"
she said, "we offer Online Office that enables users
to access one of our tax professionals for tax return
preparation from the comfort of their home. We believe
these options offer a straightforward and accurate
method to serve the Connecticut domestic-partner
filers."
The civil union
law has been in effect in the state for nearly three
years, according to ACLU Connecticut's Andrew Schneider, who
asserts that companies aren't taking the law
seriously. "There is no excusable reason why the
company that likes to claim it's the world's
largest tax services provider shouldn't make its
products available to everyone."
According to the
ACLU, the tax requirements for Connecticut couples in
civil unions are similar to the requirements for same-sex
married couples in nearby Massachusetts, for
whom H&R Block makes provisions. (Michelle
Garcia, The Advocate)
