Source: Hartford Courant, ACLU press release, Associated Press via Houston Chronicle
A Connecticut gay couple trying to compute their taxes on the H&R Block web site got a rude greeting: "We don't support Connecticut Civil Union returns."

Block, which apparently was not trying to send a political message, meant that its software hasn't been programmed to compute returns for civil-union couples.

The ACLU, which sent Block a warning letter today, says that is illegal discrimination under Connecticut law. The company will compute the taxes of same-sex couples in civil unions if they come into their local H&R Block, but that costs $155 more than doing it online.

“This is yet another example of the many ways that civil unions just don’t live up to marriage,” said Jason Smith of Hartford, who has been with his partner Settimio Pisu for six years.  “It really stung when I realized it would cost an additional $150 dollars to have our tax returns prepared.  We’re saving for a house and hoping to start a family, so every penny counts right now.” 

According to the letter the ACLU sent to H&R Block, failing to provide civil-union couples the option of filing their taxes online as it does for married couples is in violation of a Connecticut state law that bars discrimination based on sexual orientation and civil union status.  The letter demands that the company adapt its website to accommodate couples with civil unions and to reimburse all couples who were forced to pay the additional charges due to H&R Block’s discriminatory practices. 

“The civil union law has been in effect for nearly three years now, yet companies still aren’t taking it seriously,” said Andrew Schneider of the ACLU of Connecticut.  “There is no excusable reason why the company that likes to claim it’s the world’s largest tax services provider shouldn’t make its products available to everyone.”   

Under Connecticut law, gay and lesbian couples can enter into civil unions, which grant the same state rights and privileges as marriage. Since 2005, 1,846 couples have received civil union licenses in Connecticut, according to the state's Department of Public Health.

Although the tax requirements for couples with civil unions in Connecticut are very similar to the requirements for married gay couples in Massachusetts, H&R Block’s online tax preparation service seems to accommodate married gay couples there. 

“Indignities like these are a constant reminder there is no substitution for marriage,” said Rebecca Shore, an attorney with the ACLU’s Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Project. 

Since the federal government does not recognize civil unions, the couples are not filing joint federal returns.

TurboTax, meanwhile, has figured out how to compute the taxes of couples in civil unions and domestic partnerships reports the Hartford Courant.

Besides Connecticut, Vermont, California, New Jersey, New Hampshire, Maine, Washington and Oregon have laws allowing either civil unions or domestic partnerships. Hawaii extends some rights to same-sex couples and cohabiting heterosexual couples.

Full article: CAPITOL WATCH: That Might Have Been Worded Better | Hartford Courant
H&R Block Tells Gay Couples In Connecticut: “We Don’t Support ... | ACLU (press release)
ACLU pushes for Connecticut civil union tax filings | Houston Chronicle