Idaho House Panel Delays Same-Sex Marriage Tax Debate

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — A House panel delayed discussion of new rules forbidding same-sex couples legally married elsewhere from filing joint Idaho income tax returns.

House Revenue and Taxation Committee Chairman Gary Collins said numerous people wanted to testify, so he put it off until today. According to temporary State Tax Commission rules, same-sex Idaho couples legally married elsewhere must recalculate federal taxes as singles before filing state taxes.

This change — and the potential it will require gay married couples to do more paperwork and pay more than opposite-sex couples — is one foundation of a constitutional challenge filed in federal court last year seeking to topple Idaho's 2006 gay-marriage ban. Monica Hopkins, ACLU of Idaho director, estimates hundreds of Idaho couples married in 14 states that allow gay unions will be affected.