Cyrus Engerer, who heads the consultative council on LGBT rights.Cyrus Engerer, who heads the consultative council on LGBT rights.

Gay couples will benefit from the same advantageous tax rates as married couples when declaring their income, according to a Civil Unions Bill out today.

Same-sex couples will also be able to ‘tie the knot’ in a civil union in front of a mayor or public official, much on the same lines as a civil marriage.

The Bill is expected to be released today by Civil Liberties Minister Helena Dalli and the Government wants the discussion to start in Parliament tomorrow.

Addressing the annual general meeting at the Labour Party club in Għaxaq, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat yesterday said the Bill was “revolutionary” because it granted same-sex couples “all possible rights short of marriage”.

He even described the move as “a watershed moment” following the decriminalisation of homosexuality by the Labour Government 40 years ago.

As far as possible, the rights enjoyed by married couples will also be afforded to gay couples who join in union

Cyrus Engerer, who heads the Government’s consultative council on LGBT rights, said the Bill would put civil unions at par with marriage.

“As far as possible, the rights enjoyed by married couples will also be afforded to gay couples who join in union,” Mr Engerer said.

The Bill will also make provisions for the adoption of children by gay couples. Mr Engerer said that for the first time gay partners in a civil union will be allowed to approach the child adoption board as a couple.

“The adoption board will always decide on the basis of what is in the child’s best interest, a principle that also applies for married couples,” Mr Engerer said.

Current legislation allows single gay people to adopt. But most who did adopt were in a relationship, which they had to keep hidden. This meant that an adopted child had only one recognised parent despite living in a household with two adults.

Mr Engerer said this anomalous situation was not in the child’s best interest because if the legally recognised parent died or went abroad, the partner could not assume responsibility for the child. It is situations like these that the Bill will solve, he added.

The Bill was drafted by the consultative council, which is composed of gay advocacy groups.

Mr Engerer said the Bill was passed on to Dr Dalli at the end of June and was accepted in its totality by Cabinet and the Labour Party parliamentary group.

The Government intends getting the Bill through Parliament before the Budget, which is expected sometime in November.

But the council is working on other legislative initiatives, including a gender identity Bill and other policy areas such as blood donation – gay men are currently barred from donating blood – and where transgender inmates are housed in prison.

ksansone@timesofmalta.com

Additional reporting Keith Micallef.

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