Midday Roundup: Obamacare creates more tax problems for customers

Tax nightmare. Remember when the Supreme Court said Obamacare’s individual health insurance mandate was legal because it was a tax? Turns out, having the IRS involved is causing even more headaches for consumers. Obamacare uses the IRS to distribute subsidies to people who purchase health insurance on HealthCare.gov. But the forms they sent to 800,000 customers to help them reconcile those subsidies on their tax returns had bad information. The IRS started notifying affected customers today and is asking them to delay filing their tax returns until the errors are sorted out. Already many subsidy recipients were frustrated to learn they might have to pay back some of the money if they underestimated their 2014 income when they applied for insurance.

Legally wed? A lesbian couple in Austin, Texas, received a marriage license Thursday under a special court order that defied the existing definition of marriage in Texas. The state has a voter-approved constitutional amendment that says marriage is between one man and one woman. One year ago, a federal judge declared that amendment unconstitutional but left it in place while the issue is on appeal. Meanwhile, a state judge granted Suzanne Bryant and Sarah Goodfriend permission to receive a marriage license because Goodfriend has ovarian cancer. Being married would ensure they could inherit each other’s property and make medical decisions for one another. The State Supreme Court quickly issued an order barring other same-sex couples from marrying under similar circumstances. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said the couple is not legally married, and he plans to prove it.

Known suspect. Las Vegas police have arrested a 19-year-old man in the shooting death of Tammy Meyers, the mother of four who was killed after a road-rage incident. Suspect Erich Nowsch lived close to the family and knew them. Meyers’ husband told reporters she had given Nowsch money before and tried to help him. That relationship might explain why Meyers went searching for Nowsch after driving away from an initial confrontation with him. According to police, after the first instance of road rage, Meyers dropped off her 15-year-old daughter, to whom she was giving a driving lesson, and went back to find Nowsch with her son, who was armed.

Below zero. Winter has the eastern third of the country in its icy grip. National Weather Service meteorologist Patrick Burke said wind-chill values as low as 15 degrees below zero are hitting states in the mid-South. In Georgia, freezing rain gathered on trees and power lines earlier this week, leaving thousands without power for days. And there’s no relief in sight. Anotherwinter storm system is beginning to slam the south and the Midwest today.

The Associated Press and WORLD Radio’s Kent Covington contributed to this report.