BANGKOK (AP) — Lawmakers in Thailand's lower house of Parliament overwhelmingly approved a marriage equality bill on Wednesday that would make the country the first in Southeast Asia to legalize equal rights for marriage partners of any gender.
The bill passed its final reading with the approval of 400 of the 415 members of the House of Representatives in attendance, with 10 voting against it, two abstaining and three not voting.
Thailand has a reputation for acceptance and inclusivity but has struggled for decades to pass a marriage equality law. Thai society largely holds conservative values, and members of the LGBTQ+ community say they face discrimination in everyday life. The government and state agencies are also historically conservative, and advocates for gender equality have had a hard time pushing lawmakers and civil servants to accept change.
The bill now goes to the Senate, which rarely rejects any legislation that passes the lower house, and then to the king for royal endorsement. This would make Thailand the first country or region in Southeast Asia to pass such a law and the third in Asia, after Taiwan and Nepal.
FILE - Women kiss while holding a poster to support marriage equality, during a Pride Parade in Bangkok, Thailand, on June 4, 2023. Lawmakers in Thailand's lower house of Parliament overwhelmingly approved a marriage equality bill on Wednesday March 26, 2024, that would make the country the first in Southeast Asia to legalize equal rights for marriage partners of any gender. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit, File)
The bill amends the Civil and Commercial Code to change the words “men and women” and “husband and wife” to “individuals” and “marriage partners.” It would open up access to full legal, financial and medical rights for LGBTQ+ couples.
Danuphorn Punnakanta, a spokesperson of the governing Pheu Thai party and president of a committee overseeing the marriage equality bill, said in Parliament that the amendment is for “everyone in Thailand” regardless of their gender, and would not deprive heterosexual couples of any rights.
“For this law, we would like to return rights to the (LGBTQ+ group). We are not giving them rights. These are the fundamental rights that this group of people … has lost,” he said.
Mookdapa Yangyuenpradorn of the human rights organization Fortify Rights called the approval of the bill a historic moment for Thailand and the LGBTQ+ community.
She noted, however, that lawmakers did not approve the inclusion of the word “parent” in addition to “father and mother” in the law, which activists said would limit the parental rights of LGBTQ+ couples.
The new government led by Pheu Thai, which took office last year, has made marriage equality one of its main goals.
FILE - Participants hold a rainbow flag during a Pride Parade in Bangkok, Thailand, on June 4, 2023. Lawmakers in Thailand's lower house of Parliament overwhelmingly approved a marriage equality bill on Wednesday, March 27, 2024, that would make the country the first in Southeast Asia to legalize equal rights for marriage partners of any gender. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit, File)
WASHINGTON (AP) — The IRS said Friday that more than 140,000 taxpayers filed their taxes through its new direct file pilot program and participants saved roughly $5.6 million in fees they would have otherwise spent with commercial tax preparation companies.
The government pilot program, rolled out this tax season in 12 states, allows people with very simple W-2s to calculate and submit their returns directly to the IRS for free. Those using the program claimed more than $90 million in refunds, the IRS said.
But despite what IRS and Treasury Department officials said was a successful rollout, they aren't saying yet whether the program will be available next year for more taxpayers. They say they need to evaluate the data on whether building out the program is feasible.
“We will take time to analyze the data and collect feedback from a wide variety of stakeholders before making a decision about direct file's future,” IRS Commissioner Daniel Werfel said on a call with reporters.
The program, which became available to the public on March 8, cost roughly $10.5 million for technology and product development and another $2.4 million for customer service, cloud computing and user authentication.
While the Treasury set a goal of reaching 100,000 users for the pilot, 140,803 completed their taxes using the program. More than 3 million people used the IRS' eligibility tracker to see if they could use the program, and 423,450 people logged into the program.
“Regardless of where it goes from here, I am proud of the success of the direct file pilot," Werfel said.
Commercial tax prep companies that have lobbied against development of the free file program say free file options already exist.
Intuit spokesman Rick Heineman said “the reality remains the same today as it did the day Direct File launched; 100% of Americans can already file their taxes completely free of charge, free to the government and actually free to taxpayers.”
Several organizations, including private tax firms, offer free online tax preparation assistance to taxpayers under certain income limits and fillable forms are available online on the IRS website, but the forms are complicated and taxpayers still have to calculate their tax liability.
The tax season began on Jan. 29, and the filing deadline for most people was April 15.
The program was available to certain taxpayers in Florida, New Hampshire, Nevada, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington and Wyoming. Four other states that have a state income tax also were part of the pilot program — Arizona, Massachusetts, California and New York. In those four, state tax agencies helped people directly file their state taxes as well.
According to the latest IRS data, this tax season the agency has received 119.5 million returns, compared with 117.3 million received in the same timeframe last year. Refunds this tax season add up to $220 billion, compared with $215 billion last year.
Follow the AP's coverage of the IRS at https://apnews.com/hub/internal-revenue-service.
FILE - A sign outside the Internal Revenue Service building is seen, May 4, 2021, in Washington. The IRS said Friday, April 26, 2024, more than 140,000 taxpayers filed their taxes through its new direct file pilot program. It says the program's users claimed more than $90 million in refunds, saving roughly $5.6 million in fees they would have spent with commercial tax preparation companies. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)
FILE - The Internal Revenue Service 1040 tax form for 2022 is seen on April 17, 2023. The IRS said Friday, April 26, 2024, more than 140,000 taxpayers filed their taxes through its new direct file pilot program. It says the program's users claimed more than $90 million in refunds, saving roughly $5.6 million in fees they would have spent with commercial tax preparation companies. (AP Photo/Jon Elswick, File)
