Man Adopts His Partner to Avoid Inheritance Taxes
This odd tale began nearly 45 years ago when John met Gregory at a gay bar in downtown Pittsburgh. Forty five years later the loving couple has been through losing friends to Aids, the gay rights movement and Pennsylvania constitutional laws that prevented them from becoming a married couple.
Now at 65 and 73 they face financial and emotional in-securities. Fearful of financial strains due to Pennsylvania’s inheritance taxes John adopted Gregory. Now instead of being a couple they are father and son.
Gregory is the older of the two, but because John’s father is still alive he could not legally adopt him.
In states such as Pennsylvania, same-sex couples still struggle with health-care decision-making and filing statuses on their state taxes.
John and Gregory had considered marrying in another state. But they found out that because Pennsylvania does not recognize their marriage they would still be subjected to the inheritance laws.
After their lawyer filled out the proper paperwork Gregory and John had a 15-minute hearing at the courthouse.
They had to answer several questions including, “How long had they known each other? How long had they lived together? How long had they been in their current place?”
Before making a final decision the judge asked, “I am really curious, why are you adopting [Gregory]?”
‘Because it’s our only legal option to protect ourselves from Pennsylvania’s inheritance taxes,'” John explained. “He got it immediately.”
The judge signed the adoption papers on the spot. He handed the papers to the clerk then turned to John and said, “Congratulations, it’s a boy.”
Categories: Federal Tax, Income Tax, Tax Law Tags:
City Council to Raise Taxes on Pot Club
The City Council of San Jose is deciding to pursue an increase taxes on marijuana to add revenue on the revenue. The decision of the City Council was supported by the residents and city staffs. There are different reasons why people agreed on the tax hike on pot club. According to the statement of a resident, even if marijuana is being used as a medical alternative for treating several illnesses, other individuals especially youths can’t control their selves to abuse it. This is why the number of marijuana addicts is increasing rapidly. With the tax hike on pot club, the percentage of marijuana addicts may reduce because not all teens or youths can afford to purchase pricey items.
The tax hike is not yet implemented, but as soon as everything is settled with the taxes involved, the implementation process will start immediately. Though there are other people who are against with the said tax hike, the City Council explained that this will not just benefit others, but also, this can benefit everyone who is living in the state. The staffs in the committee also added that this may improve the lifestyle in the community. That’s why people who are against it have nothing to worry about.
After the City Council decided to increase taxes on marijuana, there is a legal precedence made and set to regulate or ban marijuana businesses. But, this can be prevented if the taxes on marijuana will increase. The process of implementation of the marijuana tax hike is still on-going in order for them to avoid flaws once the tax hike was implemented.
Categories: Income Tax, State Tax Tags: