Same-sex marriage gets business support

Same-sex marriage gets business support


Signatories to both briefs cover the waterfront, from Fortune 500 tech companies like Apple, Google, Intel and Hewlett-Packard (whose CEO, Meg Whitman also supports the cause) to trade groups including the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce and the Golden Gate Restaurant Association, and small construction companies, wineries, consultancies, print shops, a chiropractor in San Carlos and a dentist in Cloverdale.

[...] these "amici" are among the leading lights of free enterprise.

Besides Whitman, a former GOP gubernatorial candidate, other friends of same-sex marriage include the Walt Disney Co. and Mitt Romney's old stomping ground, Bain Capital.

-- By singling out same-sex couples for unequal treatment, laws like Prop. 8 can impede efforts to recruit, hire and retain the best workers.

Increased wedding celebrations can mean additional revenue for many businesses - such as businesses involved directly in wedding celebrations, businesses that produce goods often given as gifts to newlyweds, and businesses that benefit from increased tourism from guests who travel to the wedding.

The state Franchise Tax Board said Thursday that it will not be sending out back tax bills just yet to approximately 2,500 individuals hit by the sudden elimination of the 20-year-old Qualified Small Business Stock tax break, designed to encourage investments in startups.

Responding to a campaign in Sacramento started by small-business owners facing bills estimated between $60,000 and $500,000, the tax board said it would not be mailing bills until early April or later if the affected taxpayers seek a waiver of the statute of limitations covering the years, beginning in 2008, on which the back taxes are owed.

lesbian fiction lesbian posters lesbian comedy