5 Days 'til Tax Day: Marriage equality is not just personal; it's good business.

Offering insurance benefits to married spouses of employees is one of the most effective recruitment and retention tools for companies. When this process is made simple and easy for all employees, employers benefit financially—at tax time, and any time.

The continuing exclusion of same-sex couples from marriage makes offering gay and lesbian employees family benefits a complicated and costly process for employers.

In addition, gay and lesbian employees stand to lose many other important family protections because of marriage discrimination.

Did you know...

• Marriage discrimination costs employers. Although currently more than half of Fortune 500 companies offer domestic partner benefits to gay and lesbian employees, all of these companies must create new administrative processes to deal with situations such as transferring employees to different states that have different relationship laws, or keeping two sets of books to deal with their state’s differing laws on relationship recognition.

• At tax time, marriage discrimination means same-sex couples pay more & get less. Unlike married partners, who can pass hard-earned Social Security benefits to their spouses and kids after their death, employees in committed same-sex relationships contribute to Social Security through involuntary pay check deductions, but don’t get the same protections in a time of need as their married co-workers.

Get Active! Get Engaged!

Now what should you do with this information? How can you help? When you are talking about filing taxes this week, talk about these inequalities. And keep talking...

Talk to your neighbors. Tell your own story. Educate yourself. Contact your elected representatives. Get to know your local and statewide political advocacy organizations. Contact the leaders of groups of which you are a member. Write a newspaper, magazine, TV station, radio station or other media outlet. Create a visibility event. Host or sponsor a house party. Host or sponsor a family picnic. Ask someone you know — or everyone you know — to get engaged in this movement. Talk to your religious leaders about how to engage your faith community.

Who can you call to get answers to your specific tax-related questions?

Individuals, couples and families seeking tax advice should contact a personal tax preparer, accountant, or attorney.

If you are a reporter or an attorney with questions about tax time and marriage equality, contact Lambda Legal.

For a full list of the protections denied same sex couples and their kids, see "Appendix B" of Evan Wolfson's book, Why Marriage Matters: America, Equality & Gay People's Right to Marry.

For more information on Why Marriage Matters at Tax Time, or any other time, log on to our website at www.freedomtomarry.org.