Thomson Reuters agrees US tax break on benefits for same-sex couples

As part of an agreement with the New York Attorney General’s office, the company will no longer count the value of health coverage and other benefits granted to its employees’ same-sex spouses as taxable income, attorney general Eric Schneiderman said.

Prior to a US Supreme Court ruling declaring same-sex marriage to be legal under the Constitution, private employers had to count benefits paid to unmarried same-sex partners as taxable income. 

Since the court’s October 2013 decision, however, same-sex spouses living in states that have legalised gay marriage are supposed to have the same rights as married heterosexuals.     

After an investigation into a Thomson Reuters employee’s complaint, the Attorney General’s Civil Rights Division found that the company had failed to change its policy.  

In addition to telling its third-party benefits administrator to stop counting the value of benefits given to employees’ same-sex spouses as so-called imputed income, Thomson Reuters agreed to tell its benefits administrator to hold quarterly training sessions on the legal status of same-sex spouses. The company also said it would arrange an audit going back to October 2013 of its payroll records to see if any workers besides the complainant who sparked the probe are owed refunds.

Thomson Reuters agreed to apply changes covered by the agreement in all states where same-sex marriage is legal, Schneiderman said.

Thomson Reuters said in a statement it shared the attorney general’s commitment to provide equal treatment of legally married same-sex and opposite sex couples’ compensation and benefits.

“We have worked hard with our employees and the Attorney General to swiftly resolve the systems issues that prompted the Attorney General’s inquiry, and are confident the situation is now resolved.” ■