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Discussion: Tax Day Rallies at Post Offices Nationwide
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lynne33 |
Tax Day Rallies at Post Offices Nationwide
Jan 15 2009, 10:32 PM EST
Wednesday, April 15, 2009 is Tax Day -- the last day to pay your income tax for 2008. I suggest nationwide equality rallies at post offices on that day.LGBTQ people pay equal taxes but are denied equal rights. We do not receive the same benefits for our tax dollars as straight people. Many straight people have never thought about this. Tax Day rally signs could help educate the public about the rights we don't have but should have. "LGBT people pay the same Social Security tax, we want the same benefits." Our signs can also point out the obvious unfairness of the current situation: "Taxes -- paid; Equal Rights -- denied." A big advantage of Tax Day is that it gets media attention. Typically, a lot of people wait until the last minute to mail their tax returns. A staple of the local news on April 15 is to show people arriving at post offices, especially the post offices that stay open late for Tax Day, to mail in their returns. This means that Tax Day post office rallies will have built-in media coverage. We just need to pick the best post offices and show up with our signs, banners and energy. The media is always happy to have a new twist on an old story, and our rallies would provide that. An LGBTQ equal rights group called Marriage Equality has staged post office rallies on Tax Day for several years, on a limited scale. If a lot of us want to join in, this April 15 could be the perfect time for rallies at post offices all across the country. As an adjunct to the rallies, we could ask people to write "EQUAL TAXES, EQUAL RIGHTS" on their tax return envelopes. 44 out of 46 found this valuable. Do you?
Keyword tags:
april
tax
tax day april 15 event
taxes
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shoujokakumei |
1. RE: Tax Day Rallies at Post Offices Nationwide
Jan 15 2009, 11:46 PM EST
I think this is an incredible idea.
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Knottrek |
2. RE: Tax Day Rallies at Post Offices Nationwide
Jan 16 2009, 12:30 AM EST
I like it, too!Perfect timing, and perfect message! 8 out of 8 found this valuable. Do you? |
Hothulagurlzzz |
3. RE: Tax Day Rallies at Post Offices Nationwide
Jan 16 2009, 12:34 AM EST
Good idea. Lets support Marriage Equality group. 6 out of 6 found this valuable. Do you? |
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Goombah |
4. RE: Tax Day Rallies at Post Offices Nationwide
Jan 16 2009, 12:38 AM EST
Rock On....Great idea!!!!
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DebNmass |
5. RE: Tax Day Rallies at Post Offices Nationwide
Jan 16 2009, 2:03 PM EST
Gay people may not pay equal taxes since employer-provided health care costs for a partner are nox exempt from federal taxes the way opposite-sex married couples health benefits are.
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Casey773 |
6. RE: Tax Day Rallies at Post Offices Nationwide
Jan 16 2009, 2:07 PM EST
This is an excellent idea. How about, "Equal taxes paid, equal rights DENIED." "We give to our government, but our government doesn't give back."
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daynafrank |
7. RE: Tax Day Rallies at Post Offices Nationwide
Jan 19 2009, 1:30 AM EST
This is the greatest idea!! We should be handing out palm cards with all the tax-related rights we're denied.
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jumpfightgo |
8. RE: Tax Day Rallies at Post Offices Nationwide
Jan 23 2009, 4:07 PM EST
Fantastic. Be visible and be specific! This is an opportunity to both educate the public about why marriage equality matters and be visible to the public, and it even has the benefit of an existing specific date so it's easy to remember and easy to notify the media! Perfect!
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jaysays |
9. RE: Tax Day Rallies at Post Offices Nationwide
Jan 23 2009, 5:39 PM EST
I can't believe this idea isn't garnishing more support. Talk about visibility for the rights we are denied. Maybe it's that people don't understand that they must vote on these by clicking yes under "Do you find this valuable" before these things become official JTI events.
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lynne33 |
10. RE: Tax Day Rallies at Post Offices Nationwide
Jan 23 2009, 8:32 PM EST
"I can't believe this idea isn't garnishing more support. Talk about visibility for the rights we are denied. Maybe it's that people don't understand that they must vote on these by clicking yes under "Do you find this valuable" before these things become official JTI events."I think that you're right -- people don't know to click on "Do you find this valuable." There are several other proposed event ideas with very few "valuable" clicks -- including some event ideas that have a lot of comments posted. But besides that, I'm not sure that JTI is getting enough traffic on the Events section right now for any idea to get the 100 votes required to become an official JTI event. 6 out of 6 found this valuable. Do you? |
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Rynko |
11. RE: Tax Day Rallies at Post Offices Nationwide
Jan 24 2009, 12:16 AM EST
Oh. We're supposed to be using those buttons for voting? I thought it was just for popularity contests. Also: awesome idea. It has the additional benefit that those of us who live in places without big organized activist groups, can still do something. It only takes a few people to stand outside post offices handing out info cards. As long as the info cards contain actual specific info, and not just protest sign slogans, I'm in. 3 out of 3 found this valuable. Do you? |
Treknott |
12. RE: Tax Day Rallies at Post Offices Nationwide
Jan 24 2009, 1:47 PM EST
I think you're going to have to connect the dots for some of the public. Not that they are not smart, it's just that they do not think about us. With social security benefits for all in jeopardy those who do not like/support gays may actually think "whoo whoo, these folks pay into social security for ME but will not benefit" Remember some do not want us to get the bennies so they can continue to have it. Consider your audience. The people at the post office are NOT getting a refund. They are waiting till the last nano second to pay. In other words they are hurting bad. With economic pain in this country and with LGBT considered by some to have MORE discretionary income than them not less. I am not in favor of this yet. I think given the audience it'll backfire. I think the sayings, posters have not been thought out well enough yet to consider all this quite yet. I regret (with a degree in graphic design and 12 years production art direction background including editing) that I don't quite have the answer yet. Sorry. Need to think about it. Maybe one of you will have a better idea. Perhaps you'd need enough volunteer couples with simple statements like "20 years together, paying $____ taxes, we want to know that if something happens to me my spouse will be ok" That's a little wordy and does need enough long term couple volunteers and better clearer writing than I did ;-) But that's my concept. I am in favor of the event going on, JTI being visible and would like local events to continue a food drive as we did at most LUTN. At this time the public needs to see us GIVING BACK in a big way. They will be more receptive then 6 out of 6 found this valuable. Do you? |
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jaysays |
13. RE: Tax Day Rallies at Post Offices Nationwide
Jan 24 2009, 3:05 PM EST
Trek - you're right tha the audience may not understand the nuances of the "Gay Tax", but what a great opportunity to explain it. My partner and I have been together for almost 12 years and, to help reduce tax issues, we place all tax deductible items in one of our names - the other takes a standard deduction. It smarts big time. Not to mention my health benefits are taxed as his income... people don't know these things, don't understand them and a sign that says "Stop the Gay Tax" just won't garnish support. If we are handing out educational pamphlets, maybe people will read them and think - gosh, I didn't know that?I also think you are right that many will think that it's good we pay so much more in taxes to offset the deficit on their benefits, but those people likely already hate us and we can't change their minds anyway. Maybe equating the Gay Tax to the old "Marriage Tax" would get attention - but how to do that in a way that translates to the masses. Something like "The I Can't Get Married Tax"??? 5 out of 5 found this valuable. Do you? |
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Rynko |
14. RE: Tax Day Rallies at Post Offices Nationwide
Jan 24 2009, 3:41 PM EST
"Trek - you're right tha the audience may not understand the nuances of the "Gay Tax", but what a great opportunity to explain it. My partner and I have been together for almost 12 years and, to help reduce tax issues, we place all tax deductible items in one of our names - the other takes a standard deduction. It smarts big time. Not to mention my health benefits are taxed as his income... people don't know these things, don't understand them and a sign that says "Stop the Gay Tax" just won't garnish support. If we are handing out educational pamphlets, maybe people will read them and think - gosh, I didn't know that?Yes. We need more examples like that in whatever gets handed out. I found a bunch more of them over on http://www.equalitymatters.org/ last night. 2 out of 2 found this valuable. Do you? |
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Treknott |
15. RE: Tax Day Rallies at Post Offices Nationwide
Jan 24 2009, 4:15 PM EST
"Long story here: One day at work a manager was announcing that the company was cracking down on (and this it true of all companies) those who have people on their health care plan and are not truly dependent on them. In most cases it's inadvertent. You call to say the kid has gone off to college, take him off and they don't do it so kid's still on there. Then he said "like domestic partners. Someone could register as DP, they break up and are still listed" I hit the roof, the dude thought DP bennies are free. I asked him "are you married? got kids?" (I know he is and does). "Do you pay anything for their health care?" No he does not. Then I pointed out a coworker who carries her DP and their son on her plan because her DP's job has no health care insurance and had to explain to him it's not free. It's taxed every single week as income 8-( Here in sunny California that is deductible off ones state taxes. But that's only for some people. If you take the standard deduction even here you might not get that benefit like if you don't own a house. On the federal she gets zero, zip, nada, zilch benefit. This was a manager, did not know this. It's true, we have to educate the convincible persuadable voter. 6 out of 6 found this valuable. Do you? |
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Rynko |
16. RE: Tax Day Rallies at Post Offices Nationwide
Jan 25 2009, 1:20 PM EST
I brainstormed up a possible pamphlet format. I'm imagining something accordionlike, so that it has many panels. Front panel: Title - something like "Just what is this gay tax, anyway?" Picture of an attractive LGBT couple. Something inoffensive, so that people will want to open and read the pamphlets. I'm thinking it'll probably have to be a lesbian couple. Inside panels: 1) How long have you been together? 2) How much more do you pay in taxes than you would if you were legally married? 3) What is your story? identify each couple by first names, city, state Last panel: "These are just some of the 1138 rights that LGBT couples don't have:" [list of tax-related rights] "For more info, please visit [list of websites]." Comments? 2 out of 2 found this valuable. Do you? |
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jumpfightgo |
17. RE: Tax Day Rallies at Post Offices Nationwide
Jan 25 2009, 5:40 PM EST
I'm fine with creating our own slogans and pamphlets and such, but the HRC already has an excellent pamphlet on this subject:http://www.hrc.org/documents/Family_Matters_brochure.pdf Also, note their emphasis in the slogan "Our Families Matter". Yes same sex couples don't get the same tax-related benefits as married straight couples, but ultimately this is about families - whether your partner gets health insurance, what happens when a partner dies, etc. Those are the really big issues, and that's what we need to get the general public thinking about - all those benefits they take for granted that are denied to same sex couples and their children. 4 out of 4 found this valuable. Do you? |
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Treknott |
18. RE: Tax Day Rallies at Post Offices Nationwide
Jan 25 2009, 8:07 PM EST
"Picture of an attractive LGBT couple. Something inoffensive, so that people will want to open and read the pamphlets. I'm thinking it'll probably have to be a lesbian couple.Another lesson in graphic design and publication. There's a saying in design "show everything or show nothing" During Prop 8 there were a series of costly (tri fold, full color...." brochures with a picture of a "typical attractive gay person" on the cover ie: white young lesbian. I saw that and thought "Houston, we have a problem" 8-( In some cultures people see LGBT as a white issue. Some Pacific Island or Asian gays I know have said at first their families thought only whites are gay and so on. We needed to show diversity and quick. Weeks/days before the election there was no "do over" or way to get feedback to a group. To show everything gets pricey, costly; volunteers models of every color, age, disabled. Done right it shows the point, done wrong it looks messy and boringly pc. To show nothing show the message with graphics, holding hands that look indistinct as so is this two men, women or straight? That takes thought, art and GREAT design 8-) Good ideas, keep them coming! 4 out of 5 found this valuable. Do you? |
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lynne33 |
19. RE: Tax Day Rallies at Post Offices Nationwide
Jan 26 2009, 12:49 AM EST
Here is a link to Marriage Equality USA's page on tax equality:http://www.marriageequalitymedia.org/2008/04/during-tax-season-marriage-equality-usa.html The page includes this paragraph: "Each tax season, same-sex couples sit at their dining room tables and are forced to live a legal lie by checking „single‟ despite their decades together and then arbitrarily dividing up their joint household‟s income, expenses, and dependents,” says MEUSA President David Janis-Kitzmiller. “Then we write checks to the IRS for social security taxes, knowing that when we die our families will not even have access to any of the family „safety net‟ benefits provided in the form of social security survivor benefits, estate tax deferral, and other programs that we help fund through our tax dollars and that only heterosexual couples and their children will enjoy.” Someone on another JTI thread mentioned incorporating the intriguing "1,183" number into tax day actions -- whether on buttons, signs, handouts or wherever -- 1, 183 being the number of federal rights that married couples enjoy, and that LGBT taxpayers in partnerships are denied. Whatever literature we use can also be given to the media so they can do informed stories on this issue. And by the way, besides those 1,183 marriage-related rights, don't we deserve ALL equal rights given to other citizens, such as the right to serve in the military? Why should we pay equal taxes but be given second-class rights? 2 out of 2 found this valuable. Do you? |
