Financial guru Suze Orman on Monday
discussed the implications of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) on
gay couples as it relates to taxes.
Orman, who in 2010 married her wife
Kathy Travis in South Africa, commented on the law during a
conference call coordinated by the Respect for Marriage Coalition,
which lobbies for marriage equality.
“In order to be financially secure
now and in the future, same-sex couples have to devote time to
financial and estate planning,” said Orman, the host of CNBC's The
Suze Orman Show. “DOMA requires families to look ahead and
plan a budget around its restriction, which include higher federal
taxes and tax penalties on benefits.”
Mark Maxwell and Tim Young-Maxwell of
North Carolina, who have been together for over two decades and
married in January in the District of Columbia, are raising four
adopted children.
“We pay twice as much for our
accounting fees each year for him to navigate his way through filing
our taxes,” said Young. “Because of DOMA, we have to file our
federal taxes as if we were single, which creates additional
confusing steps that we wouldn't have to do if we were a heterosexual
couple. And, because both our state and the federal government don't
recognize our marriage, Mark and I have had to split up the family
during tax season, which is heartbreaking.”
Orman advised that once DOMA is
overturned, which she believes to be inevitable, married gay and
lesbian couples should consider moving to states where their
marriages are recognized.