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在我们的认知中，一般都是相爱的两个人才会去结婚，往最坏了的情况想，也有些是为了能够在他国获得公民身份而去结婚的。

但是最近，有两位爱尔兰的八十岁老爷爷准备登记结婚了。他们可不是因为相爱，而且两人都是笔直的直男...

背后的原因到底是什么？来看新闻报道：

Two male Irish friends, neither of which is gay, have decided to get married in order to avoid paying a hefty inheritance tax. It sounds like the plot of a Hollywood comedy, only in real life.

两个不是同性恋的爱尔兰男性友人，准备结婚以避免支付高额的遗产税。这听起来很像好莱坞喜剧的情节，只不过是在现实生活中发生了。

Michael O’Sullivan, from Stoneybatter, north Dublin, has been friends with Matt (surname not disclosed for privacy reasons) for almost 30 years. Both are in their 80s, and O’Sullivan is now Matt’s caretaker and stands to inherit his home and other possessions.

Unfortunately, because of Ireland’s Capital Acquisitions Tax (Cat), which applies to gifts and inheritances over specified amounts, Matt would have to pay 33% to the government. However, the tax does not apply to gifts or inheritance given to a spouse or civil partner, so the two men decided that the best way would be to get married.

来自北都柏林的Michael O’Sullivan已经和Matt做了近三十年的朋友了。他们两个人都已经八十多岁了，而且O’Sullivan现在是Matt的照顾者，而且会继承他的房子和其他财产。

但不幸的是，由于爱尔兰的资本取得税，这项税适用于赠与或继承超过一定数额的财产，Matt必须向政府支付33%的钱。然而，这项税并不适用于将遗产继承给配偶或者是同性伴侣的情况，所以这两个男人决定可能最好的方式就是去结婚。

In an interview with RTÉ’s LivelineMatt stated that O’Sullivan was his best friend and they were marrying “because he will be part of my life when I die and whatever I have, my home, there will be no problems, he can have it.

在接受RTÉ’s Liveline的采访时Matt说到 O’Sullivan是他最好的朋友，而且他们结婚“是因为当我死去的时候他会成为我生命中的一部分，而且无论我有什么，比如我的家，他可以拿去，这没有任何问题。

O’Sullivan, a divorcee and father-of three adult children, told RTE that he and Matt go back almost three decades. “The thing is I know Matt for 29 years, the same age as my own daughter. He lives in the same area as I grew up, in Stoneybatter. And he’s one of the nicest people anyone will ever meet in their life.”

O’Sullivan是一个离过婚的人，而且有三个已经成年的孩子。他告诉RTE说他和Matt已经认识将近三十年了。“我认识Matt29年，这跟我女儿是一样大的年纪了。他也住在我长大的地方，在Stoneybatter。而且他是任何人在他们生活中能遇到的最好的人之一了。”

“Matt said to me ‘I’m going to leave you the house.’ I said it’s a nice idea, but because of tax reasons, I’d have to pay half to the Government. But once we are married, I’m his spouse then, and if one partner dies, the house automatically goes to the other partner. I love Matt, but not in a sexual way. I’m his carer now and as Matt said to me one day, ‘it isn’t a bad idea’.”

“Matt跟我说'我要把我的房子留给你。'我说这是个好主意，但是由于税收的原因，我得向政府支付一半的钱。但是一旦我们结婚了，我就是他的配偶，如果一方去世的话，房子会自动留给另一方。我爱Matt,但不是同性的那种方式。我现在是他的照顾人，Matt有天跟我说：'这不是一个坏主意'。”

O’Sullivan added that his children have no problem with his upcoming marriage, as they have also known Matt for decades.

The pair initially planned to marry on December 22, but have delayed the ceremony to January due to weather concerns. Same-sex marriage was legalized by popular vote in Ireland on 16 November 2015.

O’Sullivan 补充道，他的孩子们对于他即将到来的婚姻也没有任何问题，因为他们已经认识Matt数十年了。他们最初准备在12月22号结婚，但是由于天气原因推迟到了一月。在2015年11月16日，通过大众投票同性婚姻在爱尔兰被合法化。

I wonder how the Irish financial authorities feel about this. O’Sullivan himself admits, it’s like American immigrants getting married to legal residents for a Green Card. This sort of convenience arrangements are not exactly legal.

很好奇爱尔兰的金融当局会对此怎么想。

O’Sullivan 自己也承认，这有点像美国移民为了绿卡跟当地居民结婚。这种图便利的安排实际上应该不合法。

其实这么通篇看下来，觉得这是一个很好的故事。

因为O’Sullivan没有白白地去享受好朋友这么多年的照顾，他懂得感恩，把自己的房子留给Matt。而最好的朋友之间是不需要推来让去的，所以Matt也心安理得地接受了O’Sullivan的这一份感谢。

小编：感谢同性婚姻合法化，实现了直人的梦想！

有时间的时候，我去做志愿者努力做活动帮助别人；没时间的时候，我捐款帮助给那些有时间的志愿者们。未来同志平权的那一天到来的时候，我会心安理得的享受这个结果。要达成同志平权，不是靠少数人做很多，而是靠大多数人都做一点点。

——亲友会月捐人：FRED

长按成为月捐人

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