Levin, Chu Reintroduce Legislation Giving Same-Sex Couples Fair Treatment Under Tax Law

Press Release

Congressman Andy Levin (MI-09), a member of the Equality Caucus and Congresswoman Judy Chu (CA-27), Vice-Chair of the Equality Caucus, along with 53 of their Democratic colleagues, introduced legislation to give same-sex couples fair treatment under U.S. tax law by removing gender-specific references to marriage, such as "husband" and "wife," from the U.S. tax code and replacing them with terms such as "married couple" and "spouse."

"To build a society where LGBT people are treated with dignity and valued as the beautiful human beings they are, we need laws with language that reflects LGBT lives and experiences," said Rep. Levin. "The Equal Dignity for Married Taxpayers Act is a small but important step toward making the United States a more equal place for queer people. I'm excited to advance this legislation with Congresswoman Chu and the rest of my colleagues in the Equality Caucus and Congress."

"Pride month is a time for us to celebrate that all love is equal. While marriage equality may be the law of the land, our tax code does not reflect it," said Rep. Judy Chu. "Discriminatory language and restrictions on same-sex couples remain intact. That is why I am proud to be reintroducing the Equal Dignity for Married Taxpayers Act with Congressman Levin. This bill will remove gendered language such as "husband' or "wife'. Gendered language intentionally excludes same-sex couples and denies them of the many tax benefits that come with marriage. We know that there are many kinds of families and it's time our federal paperwork reflects that."

"Marriage equality means that married same-sex couples must be treated equally under the law," said Alphonso David, President of Human Rights Campaign. "We thank Representatives Andy Levin and Judy Chu for introducing the Equal Dignity for Married Taxpayers Act as an important update to the American tax code to reflect that reality. Removing out-of-date language that does not reflect all families or the law of the land under Obergefell v. Hodges is an important step in eliminating prejudice in statute and in practice."

A list of the additional 53 original co-sponsors of the Equality for Married Taxpayers Act is below: Jake Auchincloss (MA-04), Karen Bass (CA-37), Donald S. Beyer Jr. (VA-08), Earl Blumenauer (OR-03), Suzanne Bonamici (OR-01), Cori Bush (MO-01), Salud Carbajal (CA-24), Troy Carter (LA-02), Ed Case (HI-01), Kathy Castor (FL-14), David N Cicilline (RI-01), Yvette D. Clarke (NY-09), Danny K. Davis (IL-07), Peter A. Defazio (OR-04), Suzan K. DelBene (WA-01), Adriano Espaillat (NY-13), Jesús G. "Chuy" García (IL-04), Al Green (TX-09), Jahana Hayes (CT-05), Brian Higgins (NY-26), Sheila Jackson Lee (TX-18), Pramila Jayapal (WA-07), Henry C. "Hank" Johnson (GA-04), Mondaire Jones (NY-17), Derek Kilmer (WA-06), John B. Larson (CT-01), Brenda Lawrence (MI-14), Alan Lowenthal (CA-47), Carolyn B. Maloney (NY-12), Betty McCollum (MN-04), Gregory W. Meeks (NY-05), Gwen Moore (WI-04), Joseph D. Morelle (NY-25), Marie Newman (IL-03), Eleanor Holmes Norton (DC-At Large), Frank Pallone, Jr. (NJ-06), Jimmy Panetta (CA-20), Donald M Payne, Jr. (NJ-10), Mark Pocan (WI-02), Ayanna Pressley (MA-07), Jamie Raskin (MD-08), Linda T. Sánchez (CA-38), Jan Schakowsky (IL-09), Haley Stevens (MI-11) Thomas R. Suozzi (NY-03), Mark Takano (CA-41), Dina Titus (NV-01), Paul Tonko (NY-20), Ritchie Torres (NY-15), Bonnie Watson Coleman (NJ-12), Peter Welch (VT-At Large), Nikema Williams (GA-05), Frederica Wilson (FL-24).