Anthony C. Infanti (Pittsburgh), A Tax Cut for Same-Sex Couples:

Tax day is quickly approaching and there is much talk now of the right mix of revenue raising and spending cuts to address the budget deficit. House Republicans recently floated a long-term budget proposal larded with more tax cuts for the wealthy and vague promises that these “pro-growth” tax cuts will pay for themselves. Given Republican tax-cutting fervor, it’s surprising that they can’t get behind the one tax cut that really would cost the government no revenue—repealing DOMA.

Repealing the federal and state “defense of marriage” acts would be a significant tax cut with no revenue cost. The state and federal DOMAs purport to deny recognition to same-sex marriages (and sometimes civil unions and domestic partnerships, too). But, in reality, they do no more than require a same-sex couple to pay a tax for their relationship to be legally recognize. …

In stark contrast to the House Republicans’ long-term budget proposal, which would sacrifice revenue to give more tax cuts to the wealthy while shredding the social safety net, repealing the tax on lesbian and gay families would strengthen the legal and social safety net without actually sacrificing government revenue. It’s about time that Republicans got behind repealing the federal and state DOMAs—the only tax cuts that really would pay for themselves.