Feb. 2, 2010. The U.S. Tax Court today issued a long-awaited decision in O’Donnabhain v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue, ruling that treatment for gender identity disorder (GID) qualifies as medical care under the Internal Revenue Code, and is therefore deductible.

“This decision treats Rhiannon O’Donnabhain the way she deserves to be treated—like any hard-working American taxpayer with medical expenses,” said Karen Loewy, senior staff attorney with Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders (GLAD), which represented Ms. O’Donnabhain.

“From the start, this has been a no-brainer.  Every mainstream medical authority from the American Psychiatric Association to the National Institutes of Health recognize the legitimacy of providing medical care for transgender people.  Dismissing these medical expenses as illegitimate and not deductible was discrimination, pure and simple.”

In an opinion reviewed by the full bench, the United States Tax Court affirmed that medical treatments for GID, including surgery and hormone therapy, are deductible medical expenses.  Moreover, the Court stated that the IRS’s position that such treatment is cosmetic in nature “is at best a superficial characterization of the circumstances that is thoroughly rebutted by the medical evidence.”

“I’m overjoyed, not only for me, but for other transgender people,” said Ms. O’Donnabhain.  “We deserve respect, equal treatment for our medical care, and fair treatment by our government.”

Born biologically male, Rhiannon O’Donnabhain began having conflicted feelings about her gender identity as early as age 8.  After decades of deep suffering, O’Donnabhain was diagnosed in 1996 with GID and undertook a course of professionally prescribed medical treatments that included her 2001 sex reassignment surgery.  She claimed the cost of her treatment as a deductible medical expense on her federal income tax return – but the Internal Revenue Service said no, calling the surgery “cosmetic.”

The trial in O’Donnabhain v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue began on July 24, 2007 in Boston, and concluded with post-trial briefing in March 2008.  At the trial, Ms. O’Donnabhain testified about her life-long struggle with her gender identity, and her health care providers testified that the treatment was critical to her mental health and ability to function at all levels.  Experts testified about Gender Identity Disorder and its treatment.

Ms. O’Donnabhain paid approximately $25,000 out-of-pocket for her care, including therapy, hormone treatment, and surgery.  The amount of the deduction she is seeking from the IRS is about $5,000.

“In this landmark ruling, the Tax Court affirmed the consensus position of the medical establishment that transition-related medical care is essential for many transgender people,” explained Jennifer Levi, Director of GLAD’s Transgender Rights Project.

Loewy, along with Levi and GLAD Senior Staff Attorney Bennett Klein, represented Ms. O’Donnabhain along with lawyers from the Boston law firm of Sullivan & Worcester, who are serving as cooperating tax counsel in the case.

from www.glad.org

read the full text of the court’s decision here (PDF)

from the National Center for Transgender Equality

Amanda Simpson, who has served on NCTE’s Board of Directors for the past 3 years, has been appointed by the Obama Administration as a Senior Technical Advisor to the Department of Commerce. She’ll be working in the Bureau of Industry and Security.
“I’m truly honored to have received this appointment and am eager and excited about this opportunity that is before me. And at the same time, as one of the first transgender presidential appointees to the federal government, I hope that I will soon be one of hundreds, and that this appointment opens future opportunities for many others.”

Simpson brings considerable professional credentials to her new job. For thirty years, she has worked in the aerospace and defense industry, most recently serving as Deputy Director in Advanced Technology Development at Raytheon Missile Systems in Tucson, Arizona. She holds degrees in physics, engineering and business administration along with an extensive flight background. She is a certified flight instructor and test pilot with 20 years of experience.

She has also been very active in political and community groups. She has served on the Board of Directors of two national organizations: Out & Equal and NCTE. In Arizona, she has been on the board of Wingspan, the Southern Arizona Gender Alliance, the Southern Arizona ACLU and the Arizona Human Rights Fund (now Equality Arizona).

In 2004, the YWCA recognized her as one of their “Women on the Move,” and in the same year, she won the Democratic nomination to the Arizona House of Representatives. In 2005, she was given the Arizona Human Rights Foundation Individual Award.

One witness, Vandy Beth Glenn, had worked for the Georgia state legislature for a number of years until the day she informed her supervisor that she was transitioning from male to female; she was immediately fired from her job. Her experiences, unfortunately, are not unique. The recent National Transgender Discrimination Survey led by the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force and the National Center for Transgender Equality (NCTE) found that 26% of the 6,450 transgender people surveyed had faced an adverse job action, such as losing their jobs, being denied a promotion or not being hired because of their gender identity or expression. Almost every person who responded to the survey-a staggering 97%- had experienced harassment or discrimination on the job because they are transgender.

“Now is the time that we must pass legislation designed to protect Americans from this kind of blatant and unfair discrimination,” commented NCTE’s Executive Director, Mara Keisling. “Every single day, transgender people are being fired for being who they are, even when they have excellent work records and skills. As a result, their families struggle and often fail to make ends meet, people lose their homes, and careers end, all because someone’s supervisor decided that it was okay to discriminate. That is not the American way. This legislation is absolutely needed to make it clear that discrimination is never acceptable.”

Several committee members were visibly moved by Ms. Glenn’s testimony and expressed concern at the way she was treated. They also asked detailed questions of the witnesses and many cited their support for ENDA’s passage. NCTE is very grateful for her courage in speaking out and her willingness to stand up for transgender rights.

Visit the committee’s website to read all of the written testimonies, view the entire preceedings, or follow a link to their YouTube page to see excerpts of the testimony.

Contact the Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121 and tell your member of Congress that you support ENDA.

Those who oppose anti-discrimination legislation will try to flood the Capitol to tell their representatives to oppose workplace equality. They need to hear loudly and clearly from us about why this measure is so important to us. Don’t let your voice be drowned out by the right wing. Speak up today!

Contact your Representative and Senators to ask them to take swift action to pass the Employment Non-Discrimination Act. Do it today. They need to hear, loud and clear, that this bill is our top priority.

Call the U.S. Capitol switchboard at: (202) 224-3121. Give the operator your zip code and ask to be connected to your Representative. Then, after leaving your message, hang up and call again to be connected to each of your two Senators.

Suggested voicemail message: My name is _____ and a proud resident of (your city/state). I am calling in support of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (H.R. 3017/S. 1584). ENDA protects lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people from job discrimination and it is critically important. Please take swift action to pass ENDA. I can be reached at _______ (provide your phone number). Thank you.

Take a stand today to end employment discrimination against LGBT people! It only takes a few minutes to make the calls, but the impact of your actions will touch lives across the country for many years to come.

It’s time to pass ENDA and take a stand to end discrimination against transgender people.

Source: National Center for Transgender Equality