IRS Ombudsman Predicts No Penalties For Married Gay Couples Filing Joint Returns

The anti-gay Alliance Defense Fund is quite unhappy with the IRS ombudsman who says that married gay couples can expect little retribution for filing joint returns.

Nina E. Olson, the national taxpayer advocate who acts as an ombudsman for the I.R.S., acknowledged the uncertainty surrounding federal taxation of same-gender spouses in an annual report to Congress. In the report, she said that taxpayers may take a filing position without penalty if there is “substantial authority” to do so, such as a court case that hasn’t been overruled by the United States Court of Appeals. And there happen to be two such cases, which are currently on appeal.

Last week the Refuse To Lie campaign launched with the warning for gay couples to seriously consider the possible ramifications.