Ellison Urges IRS to Assist LGBT Couples with Tax Issues

Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN) joined Rep. Betty McCollum (D-MN) in urging the IRS to provide same-sex couples with assistance when filing their tax returns, according to an article in The Minnesota Independent.

Same-sex couples who have legal relationships in at least 15 states through marriage, civil unions and domestic partnerships aren’t recognized by the federal government because of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), according to the article. This makes filing taxes much more complicated for those couples because of the inconsistencies between state and federal laws.

Ellison and McCollum's letter stated:

“The IRS has the ability to provide specific guidance to ease the complexity and uncertainty surrounding these couples ... While full equality cannot be achieved without repealing DOMA, this guidance will provide significant relief to hundreds of thousands of taxpayers, and save critical resources by avoiding unnecessary audits and inappropriate enforcement actions.”

Ellison Used to Question Bachmann's Credibility

Now that Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) is an official 2012 presidential candidate, her credibility is being called in to question after a pattern of misstatements are becoming more worrisome to her staff.

A Politco article used a statement the congresswoman made in 2009 about the six Muslims who were pulled off a Minneapolis flight in 2006—commonly known as the "flying imams" incident. She said the six were in town to celebrate Ellison's election victory, however, his victory had been celebrated a few weeks before. According to the article, Bachmann’s spokesman at the time didn’t even try to claim there was any truth to what she’d said.