N.Y. Residents Gauge Marriage Equality's Financial Impact

Gay workers and their employers in New York State are getting ready to deal with the impact of marriage equality on taxes, benefits, and myriad other issues.

The state, especially its largest city, "often sets the corporate tone for businesses everywhere," notes an Associated Press report. It is also home to more than 42,000 same-sex couples, who will have the right to marry beginning July 24, when the marriage equality law goes into effect.

The new rights bring advantages but also dilemmas. "Jason Ganns, an accountant from Albany, figures getting married will save him $350 to $450 a year in state income taxes -- after a devil of a time reconciling those forms with his federal return, on which he won't be considered married," the AP article relates. The federal government does not recognize same-sex marriages.

"New York City resident Andrew Troup and his husband have kept their health insurance policies separate because of tax complications and are now weighing whether merging them will make sense after marriage," the article continues. "And if some couples have been waffling on tying the knot, they'll have to decide whether now is the time to take the plunge if their employers restrict domestic partner benefits to the lawfully hitched."

Companies including Corning Glass, IBM, and Raytheon, which offer spousal benefits to same-sex domestic partners, now will require New York State workers to be married to receive them, the AP reports.

Read the full article here.