Refusal to Sign Joint Tax Return Results in Charge of Marital Waste

In divorce actions it is not uncommon for a spouse to vindictively refuse to sign a joint tax return, which would result in a lower tax rate for the monied-spouse. In Levitt v. Levitt 97 A.D.3d 543, 948 N.Y.S.2d 108 (2nd Dept.,2012), the Appellate Division, Second Department, did not tolerate such behavior holding: “The Supreme Court should have charged the defendant with marital waste in the sum of $73,500, representing the amount of additional income tax the plaintiff was required to pay based upon the defendant’s failure, as of the time of trial, to agree to file joint income tax returns.”