Should I prepare a same-sex couple's taxes?

[GCTSgrad]

In between real jobs, I am preparing tax returns at a large firm. Now that same-sex marriage is legal in my state, I may be asked to do tax returns for a same-sex couple. If I refuse, I will be fired (this has already happened at this company, albeit in another state.) I thought I would be perfectly fine with this, saying to myself, it’s what the IRS and the state allow. But then… people object to providing flowers and cakes and … for same-sex weddings. So I have doubt. If it is okay to do a tax return for a same-sex couple, then why not provide flowers, cakes. for such weddings?
I do know that if such a couple comes in, I would certainly be friendly and respectful. I certainly can’t be judgmental as I have prepared tax returns for people who are living together without being married.

 

[Della]

There is nothing in Catholic teaching that I’m aware of that says you can’t prepare anyone’s taxes no matter what sins they are committing. By doing someone’s taxes you are not approving of their decisions/actions. Those that have refused to make cakes, etc. are Evangelicals who seem to think that making a cake is the same thing as saying they support SS marriage. It isn’t. A secular business open to the public serves the public no matter what sins they are committing. Be they adulters, murders, robbers, or whatever making a cake or preparing taxes is a service not an endorsement of anything. Preparing tax returns is not engaging in nor encouraging anyone’s sins, unless they are committing tax fraud. There isn’t any way that filling out the forms for them and give them what the law allows is a sin. If you have any doubts about it, talk to your priest. I’d be very surprised if he disagrees with me.

 

[BobCatholic]

Doing taxes for a homosexual couple, how does it approve, promote or legitimize homosexual activity?

If a heterosexual couple had a homosexual child and they filed their taxes listing him/her as a dependent, does that approve, promote, or legitimize homosexual activity?

I think the answer is ‘no’ to the above two questions.

All taxpayers have to file taxes.

Baking a cake, shows support and approval of the same sex wedding.
Providing flowers for a gay wedding, is support and approval.
Doing taxes for a homosexual couple is not supporting or approving their union.

 

[adawgj]

On Judgment Day God will look at you straight in the eyes and ask why did you do the gay couples taxes?

I don’t see why not, unless their asking you to do it for free then maybe refuse.

 

[mdgspencer]

Perhaps you can morally, since this rather remote from their gay acts. You aren’t involved in their gay wedding if they “married,” or helping further their gay relationship. You might consider bringing this up with your parish priest. Or even go to the “Ask an apologist” choice on this Catholic forums website, and ask there if you don’t want to approach your parish priest.

 

[ChurchSoldier]

The difference is marriage is a sacramental act of the church and so participating in a look alike wedding could be thought of as tacit approval. There is nothing sacramental about taxes so it should not be a problem.

If it bothers you and the company has other people to do the work, a strong argument could be made that they need to accommodate your religious beliefs and have another employee take care of that client.

Good luck.

 

[johnnyt3000]

There is nothing in Catholic teaching that I’m aware of that says you can’t prepare anyone’s taxes no matter what sins they are committing. By doing someone’s taxes you are not approving of their decisions/actions. Those that have refused to make cakes, etc. are Evangelicals who seem to think that making a cake is the same thing as saying they support SS marriage. It isn’t. A secular business open to the public serves the public no matter what sins they are committing. Be they adulters, murders, robbers, or whatever making a cake or preparing taxes is a service not an endorsement of anything. Preparing tax returns is not engaging in nor encouraging anyone’s sins, unless they are committing tax fraud. There isn’t any way that filling out the forms for them and give them what the law allows is a sin. If you have any doubts about it, talk to your priest. I’d be very surprised if he disagrees with me.

If someone was a baker and was told to make a cake celebrating someone’s “gay” marriage they should refuse.

 

[brian_custer]

i don’t think doing accounting work for them is sinful

they have to have their taxes done one way or the other

just go ahead and do it, take their money for services rendered and pray that someday the holy spirit will show them the Light

 

[Antegin]

The difference is marriage is a sacramental act of the church and so participating in a look alike wedding could be thought of as tacit approval. There is nothing sacramental about taxes so it should not be a problem.

I agree totally…

If it bothers you and the company has other people to do the work, a strong argument could be made that they need to accommodate your religious beliefs and have another employee take care of that client.

When we are talking about basic services, medical care, legal advise, tax preparation and human interaction, these are still our brothers and sisters and we must be a loving and truthful community as Christ asks us. No marriage, no wedding and for the love of God, social workers and fertility specialists, don’t give pseudo married couples children. Bi and Gay people in the Church are asked to sublimate their sexually and embrace a life of celibacy without the benefits of communal life. It’s a lonely existence, very little support. If we cut them off completely, we leave no room for reconciliation and isolate them further.

In the end, you look like the bigot and find it difficult to find work. Sorry ChurchSoldier, this is not advisable.

 

[DexUK]

If someone was a baker and was told to make a cake celebrating someone’s “gay” marriage they should refuse.

Why?

The only people seeing the ‘gay cake’ would be people who presumably already approved of the marriage… The lack of a cake from a particular supplier is not going to persuade the couple not to get married and the presence of the cake at a wedding is not going to be seen as approval. I’ve never met a wedding party guest who gave a moment’s thought to the opinions of the baker of the cake. Bake the cake, take the money and if you really bothers you so much, give the profit to the Church!

You might as well say that nobody who objects to gay marriage should work for an electricity company because that company provides power for gay people to heat their homes and therefore allows them to live together in comfort, giving them time to get up to stuff that you don’t like. Or don’t pay your taxes, because the government (at whatever level) approves and formalises marriages between people of the same gender - see how far that gets you!

Honestly, the hoopla about this subject drives me round the twist. Gay people will get secularly married. They won’t do so in the Catholic Church because it isn’t available as a sacrament to them. We don’t complain about other non-Catholic marriages. We may not like divorce, but non-Catholics get divorced and remarried all the time whether we like it or not. But they’re not doing it in a Catholic church (licitly anyway). We just don’t recognise the validity of the marriage, but how many people go to the lengths of refusing to provide services for opposite gender couples who are otherwise, in the Church’s eyes, in irregular marital situations?

Non-Catholics get non-Catholic married. Same sex couples who wish to get married are, by default, non-Catholic. We really need to get over it!

 

[ChurchSoldier]

I agree totally…

When we are talking about basic services, medical care, legal advise, tax preparation and human interaction, these are still our brothers and sisters and we must be a loving and truthful community as Christ asks us. No marriage, no wedding and for the love of God, social workers and fertility specialists, don’t give pseudo married couples children. Bi and Gay people in the Church are asked to sublimate their sexually and embrace a life of celibacy without the benefits of communal life. It’s a lonely existence, very little support. If we cut them off completely, we leave no room for reconciliation and isolate them further.

In the end, you look like the bigot and find it difficult to find work. Sorry ChurchSoldier, this is not advisable.

Thanks for the response. I wasn’t suggesting one way or the other that the OP should or shouldn’t. I was just stating that if they felt an objection they could probably find a way to not do them yet have the clients and the businesses needs met.

Your thought that the OP may damage his future opportunities at the company is a likely side effect.

Thanks again for posting.

 

[Giggly_Giraffe]

Taxes are not SACRAMENTAL: Render onto Cesar what is Cesar’s.
Marriage is SACRAMENTAL & should be protected.

2358 The number of men and women who have deep-seated homosexual tendencies is not negligible. This inclination, which is objectively disordered, constitutes for most of them a trial. They must be accepted with respect, compassion, and sensitivity. Every sign of unjust discrimination in their regard should be avoided. These persons are called to fulfill God’s will in their lives and, if they are Christians, to unite to the sacrifice of the Lord’s Cross the difficulties they may encounter from their condition.

scborromeo.org/ccc/p3s2c2a6.htm#2358

 

[FrDavid96]

In between real jobs, I am preparing tax returns at a large firm. Now that same-sex marriage is legal in my state, I may be asked to do tax returns for a same-sex couple. If I refuse, I will be fired (this has already happened at this company, albeit in another state.) I thought I would be perfectly fine with this, saying to myself, it’s what the IRS and the state allow. But then… people object to providing flowers and cakes and … for same-sex weddings. So I have doubt. If it is okay to do a tax return for a same-sex couple, then why not provide flowers, cakes. for such weddings?
I do know that if such a couple comes in, I would certainly be friendly and respectful. I certainly can’t be judgmental as I have prepared tax returns for people who are living together without being married.

I think that the difference here is that cakes and flowers and photographs are forms of art. At least in some way, they express something about the artist.

No two cake artists will produce exactly the same cake (even if they follow a set pattern, there’s always something unique about each one).

It’s not the same with taxes. If all the data is the same, a tax return “should” always be the same no matter who actually does it.

Preparing someone’s taxes implies no endorsement of the client’s lifestyle.

Some examples to think about:

Client (wealthy) gave zero money to charity last year. Would you refuse to do the taxes?
Client spent too much on luxury groceries (client is a glutton). Would you refuse?
Client had excessive gambling losses. Would you refuse?
Client gave money to immoral not-for-profits. Would you refuse?

 

[petitfleur]

Why?

The only people seeing the ‘gay cake’ would be people who presumably already approved of the marriage… The lack of a cake from a particular supplier is not going to persuade the couple not to get married and the presence of the cake at a wedding is not going to be seen as approval. I’ve never met a wedding party guest who gave a moment’s thought to the opinions of the baker of the cake. Bake the cake, take the money and if you really bothers you so much, give the profit to the Church!

You might as well say that nobody who objects to gay marriage should work for an electricity company because that company provides power for gay people to heat their homes and therefore allows them to live together in comfort, giving them time to get up to stuff that you don’t like. Or don’t pay your taxes, because the government (at whatever level) approves and formalises marriages between people of the same gender - see how far that gets you!

Honestly, the hoopla about this subject drives me round the twist. Gay people will get secularly married. They won’t do so in the Catholic Church because it isn’t available as a sacrament to them. We don’t complain about other non-Catholic marriages. We may not like divorce, but non-Catholics get divorced and remarried all the time whether we like it or not. But they’re not doing it in a Catholic church (licitly anyway). We just don’t recognise the validity of the marriage, but how many people go to the lengths of refusing to provide services for opposite gender couples who are otherwise, in the Church’s eyes, in irregular marital situations?

Non-Catholics get non-Catholic married. Same sex couples who wish to get married are, by default, non-Catholic. We really need to get over it!

Agree. people get married at courthouses and beaches and just about everywhere by non religious people. You would have to refuse to make a cake for people who get married multiple times without an annulment too. Then there are people who are practicing pagens and wiccans who get married and have ceremonies that reflect those beliefs. Would you refuse them too. Would it be worth destroying your reputation?

 

[GEddie]

These two people would pay taxes whether or not they were in the sinful relationship.

The details of the filing are changed, not the need to file.

Therefore, filing the taxes in no way supports the relationship.

IMNAAHO.

ICXC NIKA

 

[WillyAL]

Baking a cake, shows support and approval of the same sex wedding.
Providing flowers for a gay wedding, is support and approval.
Doing taxes for a homosexual couple is not supporting or approving their union.

For your consideration:

Assuming that you are being compensated for preparing a tax return, you are required to sign it. By signing the return, one of the things things you are attesting to is the fact that, to the best of your knowledge, the return is correct. Now, suppose the tax payer’s filing status is “married filing jointly.” Are you prepared to sign your name to a return for a same sex couple?

I hope so. I also hope that you’d bake their cake and arrange their flowers. None of these activities are a demonstration of support for same sex marriage. A business owner who offers his services to the public will very quickly run afoul of the law if he discriminates against customers simply because their religious beliefs differ.

 

[Jon_S_1]

In between real jobs, I am preparing tax returns at a large firm. Now that same-sex marriage is legal in my state, I may be asked to do tax returns for a same-sex couple. If I refuse, I will be fired (this has already happened at this company, albeit in another state.) I thought I would be perfectly fine with this, saying to myself, it’s what the IRS and the state allow. But then… people object to providing flowers and cakes and … for same-sex weddings. So I have doubt. If it is okay to do a tax return for a same-sex couple, then why not provide flowers, cakes. for such weddings?
I do know that if such a couple comes in, I would certainly be friendly and respectful. I certainly can’t be judgmental as I have prepared tax returns for people who are living together without being married.

Are you concerned about preparing the taxes of sinners in general?

If only non sinners taxes you prepared you would be quite slow I think.

Seriously though, I see no reason why you shouldn’t prepare them. If they came into a restaurant you owned I’d hope you’d feed them right!?

 

[Rau]

If someone was a baker and was told to make a cake celebrating someone’s “gay” marriage they should refuse.

If asked to write a speech extolling the virtues of same sex marriage, one ought to decline. Cakes and flowers and venues and hire cars and double beds and tax preparation services are not endorsements, nor participation in sin, IMHO.

 

[Rau]

I think that the difference here is that cakes and flowers and photographs are forms of art. At least in some way, they express something about the artist.

No two cake artists will produce exactly the same cake (even if they follow a set pattern, there’s always something unique about each one).

That is a stretch! So if the cake is picked out of a sample book of standard cakes, and the retailer sources it from a wholesale supplier who has no knowledge of its intended use, it now becomes OK for the wholesaler to make it and the retailer to supply it?

 

[AyJSimon]

If asked to write a speech extolling the virtues of same sex marriage, one ought to decline. Cakes and flowers and venues and hire cars are not endorsements, IMHO.

I would think so, as well. Can one imagine attending a straight couple’s wedding ceremony out of simple courtesy, without endorsing the marriage taking place? It seems to me that a Christian florist could provide services for a gay wedding without fear that God will mistakenly consider your professional courtesy as an endorsement of the gay wedding.