The German Federal Constitutional Court has ruled that it is unconstitutional to fail to extend to partners in civil unions the income tax benefits enjoyed by married couples. Here's how Spiegel Online International explains it:
The Federal Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe ruled that the unequal
treatment of marriages and civil partnerships regarding taxes was
unconstitutional, and demanded that the law be changed retroactively to
August 1, 2001, the date that Germany legalized civil unions. Until new
regulations exist, the current provisions for joint filings of married
couples can be applied to civil partnerships, according to the decision.
The move had significant political support. All parties in the
parliament, with the exception of Chancellor Angela Merkel's
conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and its Bavarian sister
party, the Christian Social Union (CSU), had recently called for such
equal treatment.
The full article is here.
This will be an interesting development to watch.
Do you mean, "unconstitutional NOT to extend to partners in civil unions the income tax benefits enjoyed by married couples"?
Yes, thanks. Updated language in blue inserted 10:10pm 6/8/13.
No credence can be lent to a country that rejected the chance to prosecute folks for sexually mutilating little atheist baby boys. This is the same country that employed Mengele to advance the science of human suffering.