No Tax Equality for Married Homosexuals

German homosexuals may be allowed to wed, but they still don't have the same tax benefits as heterosexual couples. A financial court in Saarland rejected a lawsuit brought by the regional head of the German Association of Gays and Lesbians that sought to to give gay couples the right to split their income between them and jointly file their income tax returns. The judge in the case argued that current tax law stipulates that such benefits are only due to married couples. Same-sex couples in Germany can register their partnerships, though they are still not on equal footing with heterosexual couples. While marriage grants gay couples the same inheritance and tenants' rights, they don't have the same tax and welfare benefits, nor the right to adopt children.