Missouri governor uses Executive Order to authorize homosexuals to file joint tax returns

The governor of Missouri issued an executive order allowing gay couples who are ‘married’ in other states to file joint tax returns.

A Nov. 19 spells out the decision by Democrat governor Jay Nixon who signed the order and may have put the state in opposition to Federal guidelines.

“Lesbian” wedding mock-cake at the Roma Gay Pride in 2008. Picture by Stefano Bolognini via wikimedia commons.

“Missouri is one of a number of states whose tax code is directly tied to that of the federal government, and under Missouri law, legally married couples who file joint federal tax returns with the IRS must also file joint state returns with our state Department of Revenue,” Governor Jay Nixon said in a news release announcing the order.

“As a result, accepting the jointly-filed state tax returns of all legally-married couples who file federal returns is the only appropriate course of action, given Missouri statutes and the ruling by the U.S. Department of Treasury,” he said.

Nixon points to the August ruling by the Supreme Court which prompted the IRS to announce that to reflect the Supreme Court’s ruling overturning key parts of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), homosexuals who are “married” in states where same-sex nuptials are legal will be recognized as couples in the eyes of the federal government. The decision applies whether the individuals live in a state that recognizes same-sex “marriage” or not–just as long as they were enjoined in a state where such unions are permissible.

Nixon said in his release that he was only reflecting the federal government’s decision, and was not legalizing homosexual “marriage” in the state, which is banned by the Missouri constitution. However, he expressed to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that he supports the concept.

“Many Missourians, including myself, are thinking about these issues of equality in new ways and reflecting on what constitutes discrimination. To me, that process has led to the belief that we shouldn’t treat folks differently just because of who they are,” he stated. “I think if folks want to get married, they should be able to get married.”

State House Speaker Tim Jones (R) said the governor is just trying to score points with liberal supporters of gay marriage.

“The governor’s job is to defend our state’s constitution—including the constitutional amendment defining marriage as between one man and one woman that was passed overwhelmingly in this state—not to surrender to the whims of the Obama administration,” he wrote in a statement last week.