California supreme court secures tax breaks
for domestic partners

By Mike Aldux

January 4, 2008

Domestic partners in California secured the same property tax protections as heterosexual spouses yesterday after the state's Supreme Court batted down an appeal by county assessors.

The decision comes after the state's Court of Appeal in October unanimously affirmed a Board of Equalization's rule protecting domestic partners from increases in property taxes when one partner dies and the other inherits the couple's home, according to the National Center for Lesbian Rights.

State law has long provided this protection for surviving heterosexual spouses, the NCLR said in a statement.

After yesterday's decision, no further appeals of the rule are possible.

Equality California Executive Director Geoff Kors praised the court's ruling, saying a "surviving domestic partner should not lose the family home because he or she must pay taxes that a surviving married spouse does not."

Kors said, "The fact that this lawsuit moved forward in the first place further illustrates the need to grant same-sex couples the ability to marry in California."

The case began in March 2005 when Sutter and Orange counties challenged the Board of Equalization rule in state court. Several gay rights advocacy groups and three same-sex couples defended the challenge.

The challenge was rejected by a Sacramento judge in 2006. Several county assessors appealed again but the appeal was knocked down in October. Yesterday the state's Supreme Court denied further review of the rule, allowing it to stand.

"We are grateful to the Board of Legislature for protecting same-sex couples and their families," said Shannon Minter, legal director for the NCLR.

Minter said the ruling "ensures that this protection is secure."

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