It's that time again...
The Hell With the Ides of March... Beware the Ides of April.
So, I have finally finished all our tax forms...
Our State form was e-filed over the weekend. So was my federal. And, I finally finished my wife's. Which, due to some pretty messed up things, needs to be paper-filed. So it is all ready to go and, come morning, she will be handing it to our dear, useless post carrier with a strong admonishment to get it post-marked TODAY.
Taxes have been hell this year. Really.
See, because we have dumb people in the Federal Government who passed DOMA, we have complex hoops to jump through.
As a same-sex couple, we are entitled to (and supposed to) file our State return as "Married filing Jointly." (Yeah!!!- it's really exciting, that first together tax filing thing.)
But, we have to file TWO separate federal returns, each under the status of "Single."
No shit.
We are forced to utterly deny the existence of our marriage. Like it's something illicit, or shameful. O am really offended by this. We aren't even legally permitted to file under the status married, filing separately. No, we HAVE to file as 2 single individuals. (I can't think of strong enough curses to express my opinion of this)
What a pain in the arse. This means three separate filings and three separate accounts under Turbo-Tax.
All made more fun this year by the hoops I needed to jump through for my return because I am on SSD. Normally I don't have to file a return. Except this year, because of the stimulus rebate. But unlike most folks who simply have to file, or if they are feeling anal, need to write "Stimulus Payment" at the top of their form (because the same people running this program for everyone are going to forget to apply it to those returns that don't remind them?!)
No, for those of us earning our non-income, under-subsistence money from a government plan. we have to jump through hoops. Follow a specially mailed, multi-paged booklet with other steps that no one else has to do. No, they get to blithely file their return and don't give it another thought. And, magically, poof! their rebate will arrive. But us, the poor shmucks on government plans, we actually have to work for our rebate. Nice, no?
And then, again thanks to DOMA, we (the wife and I) are getting screwed on the rebate too. Married couples are eligible for a $1,200 rebate. But because we *CAN'T* file a joint married return for the Federal Government, we are each only eligible for the $300 single rebate. So, because we are gay, we only get half the rebate our heterosexual peers get. That's fair, right?
As my wife says, this is the real fight. The stark reality is that even though our marriage is legal in our state and we are theoretically equal in all ways to any other married couple in our state, as far as the Federal Government is concerned we are still second-class citizen's fighting for every little scrap of equality we can get. Hell, my dog gets better table scraps!
So tell me, do the mixed gender, hetero couples sleep better and feel safer because they have cheated us out of fair income? Do they think it's "Just fine" because THOSE people (that'd be us over here in rainbowland) are kept in our place? Frankly, most same sex couples (being DINKs) are more likely to spend more and therefore be even more stimulating to the economy then their hetero peers... so, isn't that defeating the point of a program designed to help STIMULATE the country's economy?!
Hey, let's give everyone a little extra money so they will go out and spend it and help stimulate the economy so we all benefit. But let's not give the gays the full benefit of the plan, because they don't deserve it. They don't need stimulus to spend their money for all of our benefit, why should we give them more to spend. Besides, they'd only buy rainbow coloured sex toys or something, and this great conservative, christian right country doesn't need that. No no no.
Maybe if we rub their noses in how awful they are and how they are second-class citizens enough times they will either change their ways and become productive members of society, "our kind of people" or else maybe they'll just leave. Go off to England and live with Sir Elton and his faggy boy, or something. Either way, it works for us, the patriotic, gd fearing, conservative Christian-Right Wing U S of A.
I am so angry.
I am not normally the political half of this marriage. ANd I *really* am not usually the one who rants, but damn it I'm mad and I just needed to express it.
Anyway, the taxes are done and nearly all are filed.
I'm for bed... talk amongst yourselves. Form your own opinions on government policy and my questionable sanity.
But, I have to agree with my wife's oft-quoted opinion, "If you aren't angry, you aren't paying attention."
Well, I'm paying attention now. And apparently, as far as the government is concerned, that's all I am allowed to pay.
America, love it or leave it.
F*ck it.
So, I have finally finished all our tax forms...
Our State form was e-filed over the weekend. So was my federal. And, I finally finished my wife's. Which, due to some pretty messed up things, needs to be paper-filed. So it is all ready to go and, come morning, she will be handing it to our dear, useless post carrier with a strong admonishment to get it post-marked TODAY.
Taxes have been hell this year. Really.
See, because we have dumb people in the Federal Government who passed DOMA, we have complex hoops to jump through.
As a same-sex couple, we are entitled to (and supposed to) file our State return as "Married filing Jointly." (Yeah!!!- it's really exciting, that first together tax filing thing.)
But, we have to file TWO separate federal returns, each under the status of "Single."
No shit.
We are forced to utterly deny the existence of our marriage. Like it's something illicit, or shameful. O am really offended by this. We aren't even legally permitted to file under the status married, filing separately. No, we HAVE to file as 2 single individuals. (I can't think of strong enough curses to express my opinion of this)
What a pain in the arse. This means three separate filings and three separate accounts under Turbo-Tax.
All made more fun this year by the hoops I needed to jump through for my return because I am on SSD. Normally I don't have to file a return. Except this year, because of the stimulus rebate. But unlike most folks who simply have to file, or if they are feeling anal, need to write "Stimulus Payment" at the top of their form (because the same people running this program for everyone are going to forget to apply it to those returns that don't remind them?!)
No, for those of us earning our non-income, under-subsistence money from a government plan. we have to jump through hoops. Follow a specially mailed, multi-paged booklet with other steps that no one else has to do. No, they get to blithely file their return and don't give it another thought. And, magically, poof! their rebate will arrive. But us, the poor shmucks on government plans, we actually have to work for our rebate. Nice, no?
And then, again thanks to DOMA, we (the wife and I) are getting screwed on the rebate too. Married couples are eligible for a $1,200 rebate. But because we *CAN'T* file a joint married return for the Federal Government, we are each only eligible for the $300 single rebate. So, because we are gay, we only get half the rebate our heterosexual peers get. That's fair, right?
As my wife says, this is the real fight. The stark reality is that even though our marriage is legal in our state and we are theoretically equal in all ways to any other married couple in our state, as far as the Federal Government is concerned we are still second-class citizen's fighting for every little scrap of equality we can get. Hell, my dog gets better table scraps!
So tell me, do the mixed gender, hetero couples sleep better and feel safer because they have cheated us out of fair income? Do they think it's "Just fine" because THOSE people (that'd be us over here in rainbowland) are kept in our place? Frankly, most same sex couples (being DINKs) are more likely to spend more and therefore be even more stimulating to the economy then their hetero peers... so, isn't that defeating the point of a program designed to help STIMULATE the country's economy?!
Hey, let's give everyone a little extra money so they will go out and spend it and help stimulate the economy so we all benefit. But let's not give the gays the full benefit of the plan, because they don't deserve it. They don't need stimulus to spend their money for all of our benefit, why should we give them more to spend. Besides, they'd only buy rainbow coloured sex toys or something, and this great conservative, christian right country doesn't need that. No no no.
Maybe if we rub their noses in how awful they are and how they are second-class citizens enough times they will either change their ways and become productive members of society, "our kind of people" or else maybe they'll just leave. Go off to England and live with Sir Elton and his faggy boy, or something. Either way, it works for us, the patriotic, gd fearing, conservative Christian-Right Wing U S of A.
I am so angry.
I am not normally the political half of this marriage. ANd I *really* am not usually the one who rants, but damn it I'm mad and I just needed to express it.
Anyway, the taxes are done and nearly all are filed.
I'm for bed... talk amongst yourselves. Form your own opinions on government policy and my questionable sanity.
But, I have to agree with my wife's oft-quoted opinion, "If you aren't angry, you aren't paying attention."
Well, I'm paying attention now. And apparently, as far as the government is concerned, that's all I am allowed to pay.
America, love it or leave it.
F*ck it.