Op-ed outlines concerns about the economic inequities created by the U.S. Defense of Marriage Act
The following op-ed appeared in the Boston Herald on February 24
As leaders of two vibrant Chambers of Commerce representing both coasts, we are deeply proud of our states’ marriage equality laws but increasingly troubled by the economic inequities created by the U.S. Defense of Marriage Act, or DOMA, which penalizes both our employers and married same-sex employees. With DOMA now on the spring docket of the U.S. Supreme Court, we hope that once and for all, this antiquated and costly law will be abolished.
In Washington state, which upheld its marriage equality law in November, the business support was unprecedented. Embraced as a core value for both employees and customers, nearly 500 businesses joined the campaign. They ranged from small, mom-and-pop shops to iconic brands.
Both our chambers see marriage equality as a series of big pluses — from attracting and keeping the best and the brightest employees, to adding to the economy’s bottom line.
In Massachusetts, there’s simply no question that same-sex marriage has promoted an image that Boston is an attractive, welcoming and exciting place to work and to live.
But for the business community, DOMA is both an administrative headache and an added cost. Because of DOMA, the federal government does not recognize same-sex marriages, requiring human resource departments to keep two sets of records: one for married employees with same-sex spouses, and a set for everyone else. And for companies that want to attract and retain talent, it costs more to extend equal benefits to same-sex employees.
DOMA means that health care benefits for same-sex spouses and their families are taxable, both to the employee and employer. For employees, that’s an average of over $1,000 each year. And because DOMA treats health care benefits for same-sex employees as taxable income, it results in higher taxes for the employer as well.
In Boston, these DOMA inequities have been a reality since 2004, when Massachusetts became the first state in the nation to allow same-sex couples to marry. The additional tax burdens placed on couples exceeds $10,000, with businesses swallowing tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars in taxes simply because DOMA makes health care benefits taxable income for married same-sex couples.
There are other penalties brought on by DOMA that must go. For example, many companies offer Flexible Spending Accounts, which allow employees to use pretax dollars to pay for medical care for themselves or their spouses and children. But federal tax law prevents such accounts from being available to a same-sex employee’s spouse.
Visa rights for spouses are also unavailable to married same-sex couples, a penalty that’s increasingly problematic as companies often require or need employees to temporarily relocate in today’s global marketplace.
Even relocating or transferring employees with same-sex spouses between two different states domestically is a challenge for companies and extracts a personal cost to employees and a financial cost to business.
We believe it is essential to end the inequities caused by DOMA once and for all. It’s time to level the playing field for our employers and all their married employees.
Maud Daudon is president and CEO of the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce. Paul Guzzi is president and CEO of the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce.