REPORT: CT COULD LOSE $1 MILLION/YEAR IF CIVIL UNIONS ALLOWED: From the Boston Globe

Connecticut could lose nearly $1 million a year because of decreased inheritance tax revenue if the state allows civil unions of same-sex couples, a new legislative report says.

Municipalities would also pay a price, up to $1.5 million a year for health insurance, pensions and other benefits for town and city workers who enter into civil unions, according to the legislature's nonpartisan Office of Fiscal Analysis.

The report provided general cost estimates, but said the true cost of civil unions is difficult to estimate. ...

The primary financial effect on the state budget would be lost revenue from the succession tax. Under state law, wives and husbands inherit property from their spouses tax-free, but unmarried partners are required to pay taxes. ...

Sen. Andrew McDonald, a Stamford Democrat and co-chairman of the Judiciary Committee, said the lost revenue proves the inequities gays and lesbians now face.

"Under current law, (same-sex) partners are at a real economic disadvantage because they are considered to be legal strangers -- they're no more connected than if you left a bequest to your neighbor down the street," McDonald said. "To me that underscores very real economic discrimination."

The loss of tax revenue is "the price we will pay to end this legal discrimination," McDonald said.

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posted by Eve at 3:24 PM | link

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