The German Federal Constitutional Court ruled today that same-sex couples who are registered as civil unions have a constitutional right to enjoy the same tax breaks as married couples. In line with previous decisions, the court stressed that marriage as protected by Art. 6 I GG was exclusively between a man and a woman. However, it held that this institution was not threatened by same-sex civil unions. Rather, there were too few structural differences between the two to justify denying tax breaks to the latter. This practice violated the General Rule of Equality, Art. 3 I GG. The court did not nullify the tax law, however, but declared the parts in question unconstitutional. Parliament now has to act accordingly. With a general election in September, this is widely believed to cause some political turmoil: The ruling Christian-Democratic Party, other than its coalition partner FDP and all other parties in parliament, has not yet embraced full equality for same-sex unions.
The German Federal Constitutional Court ruled today that same-sex couples who are registered as civil unions have a constitutional right to enjoy the same tax breaks married couples do. In line with previous decisions, the court stressed that marriage as protected by Art. 6 I GG was exclusively between a man and a woman. However, it held that this institution was not threatened by same-sex civil unions. Rather, there were too few structural differences between the two to justify denying tax breaks to the latter. This practice violated the General Rule of Equality, Art. 3 I GG. The court did not nullify the tax law, however, but declared the parts in question unconstitutional. Parliament now has to act accordingly. With a general election in September, this is widely believed to cause some political turmoil: The ruling Christian-Democratic Party, other than its coalition partner FDP and all other parties in parliament, has not yet embraced full equality for same-sex unions.