Genentech to 'gross up' to cover taxed benefits for same-sex partners of employees

What’s good for Google and a growing number of employers is good for Genentech — and for gay and lesbian employees and their partners. Starting Jan. 1, the South San Francisco-based biotech giant will “gross up” the pay of employees with same-sex partners to cover the taxes that the Internal Revenue Service grabs for company-provided medical benefits to families and the like. The IRS does not tax company benefits received by opposite-sex spouses. But federal tax law does not extend equivalent treatment to same-sex spouses.