COLUMN: The marriage equality penalty

Same-sex couples can legally wed in nine states and the District of Columbia. This week, 80 prominent Republicans urged the Supreme Court to make it the law of the land. But come tax time, married gay couples have few rights and more headaches. In a tax season already marred by delays and potential cuts, gay couples also wrestle with a complex filing process, steeper tax bills and difficulties in passing assets along to their spouses. “It ends up being pretty confusing for people,” says Brian Moulton, legal director at the Human Rights Campaign, an organization that fights for gay rights.