By John Lindstrom
Publisher
Posted: April 8, 2015 2:55 PM

The deadline to file taxes is a week from today, April 15. And there is a bit of a conundrum the state has to deal with that is not discussed.

Nor will it be discussed, at least not on the record by any officials at the Department of Treasury. Or on background by them. Or for that matter, even off the record. Probably the best anyone could do in getting a response is a type of “wink-wink-nudge-nudge-know what I mean” shrug of the shoulders and uncomfortable clearing of the throat when the question is posed.

Here is the issue: same-sex marriage is not, at the moment, legal in Michigan. Except for some 300 couples married during a brief period when the U.S. District Court in Detroit overruled the 2004 constitutional amendment, same-sex couples married in other states, or married by sympathetic clergy here, are not considered married in Michigan.

But those couples can file a joint return on their federal 1040 U.S. tax return. The 2014 instructions from the federal IRS clearly say that a same-sex couple married in a state or country that recognize same-sex marriage can file a joint return even if they live in a state that does not recognize same-sex marriage.

In Michigan, however, the tax instructions for individuals and couples clearly say that a same-sex couple must file their MI-1040 separately even if they have filed a joint return federally (although, somewhat confusingly, the instructions for tax preparers say a couple that files a joint federal return must file a joint state return).

Okay, first complication the state has to deal with: the requirement that same-sex couples file separately does not apply to those 300 or so couples that who married during that one weekend in March 2014, and whose marriages have been recognized by the state (following a court ruling). If those couples filed jointly with their federal returns, they can file a joint return with the state.

Now, second complication: who are those couples? It’s not like the state has a list. They could spend some taxpayer money to research marriage licenses issued during that time, but then you would have to find some way to target some 300 returns out of nearly 5 million returns the state receives. Is that really the best use of the state resources and time, one could ask.

Are you beginning to sense the next complication the state has to confront? Hmmm? No?

Okay, next complication: How can the state tell if any couple filing a joint state return is a same-sex couple or not? There is nothing on the state return requiring identification by gender.

You can tell by name, one might insist; that would tell the state if it is a same-sex couple. Okay, how about a couple named Chris and Chris (a Gongwer-specific example)? Is Pat male or female? Lynn? Beverly? Jean? Jamie? And those are just few names common in European-based languages.

So, here is the question: Does the state spend time and taxpayer money trying to determine which of the several million joint returns filed may be filed inappropriately by same-sex couples who are not authorized to file said joint returns?

There is an answer. A real answer. But you could lay odds the department will not publicly discuss what the real answer is. Oh, you’re all bright folks. If you can figure out your taxes, you can figure it out.