What is wrong with Democrats paying their taxes?

Sabek · Post by **Sabek** » February 2, 2009, 3:19 pm

What is confusing about the tax code that is making it so the folks Obama is appointing to positions keep having "embarrassing tax issues"?

http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/02/02/ ... index.html
Couldn't find the link for the well publicized Geitner tax snafu, but it's been out there for a while.

Xyun · Post by **Xyun** » February 2, 2009, 5:55 pm

Speaking as a democrat, it's hard to fork up money when you know it's just going to go to the ultra-rich via bailout.

Fash · Post by **Fash** » February 2, 2009, 6:18 pm

That's nonsense, and it's democrats who are pushing the bailouts now.

It doesn't make any sense... These people have accountants and have been paying taxes for many years. There is no excuse for $120k+ income to not be reported.

I don't quite get how they all have a shitload of people running in front of cameras talking about what great fantastic human beings they are and people apologizing for them. Tax fraud is tax fraud... These people should not be bulletproof, or continue to be promoted when they're shown to be fraudulent.

Jice Virago · Post by **Jice Virago** » February 2, 2009, 6:23 pm

1) The Dems don't have as much experience in covering their tracks as the GOPers.

2) The GOPers pushed the initial bailout, which is still the main bailout. Its just now that the money might go to fund social and infastructure projects, instead of some rich white banker's super bowl party, they suddenly want nothing to do with it.

3) Idiocy knows no party affiliation.

Sabek · Post by **Sabek** » February 2, 2009, 7:20 pm

Call me silly but I guess I think the guy running the IRS should know how to pay his taxes.

Bubba Grizz · Post by **Bubba Grizz** » February 2, 2009, 7:27 pm

In an ideal world yes. You know how management is. You don't have to actually know what you are doing to manage. You just need to know who's ass to kiss.

I agree though that if you are going to be representing others or in the lime light, your shit better not stink. You are being held to a higher level, fair or not. Stuff like this is just stupidity in motion.

Kilmoll the Sexy · Post by **Kilmoll the Sexy** » February 3, 2009, 10:57 am

These stupid things are why the next election will result in a turn back to GOP control. Gratz Dems on fulfilling the destiny!

miir · Post by **miir** » February 3, 2009, 11:05 am

Kilmoll the Sexy wrote:These stupid things are why the next election will result in a turn back to GOP control. Gratz Dems on fulfilling the destiny!

Stuff like this is inconsequential compared to the crap the GOP put your country through for the past 8 years.
It would be amusing if something minor like this influences voters 4 years from now.

Spang · Post by **Spang** » February 3, 2009, 12:32 pm

miir wrote:Stuff like this is inconsequential compared to the crap the GOP put your country through for the past 8 years.
It would be amusing if something minor like this influences voters 4 years from now.

You underestimate the ignorance of the American people.

Sabek · Post by **Sabek** » February 3, 2009, 1:18 pm

Now a third Obama nominee with tax problems and the second of the three to withdraw their nomination because of the tax issues.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28994296/

MSNBC wrote:Killefer was to work with economic officials to increase efficiencies and eliminate waste in government spending.

Obama repeatedly promised that his administration would go "line by line" over its budgets with a focus on fiscal responsibility even as he seeks huge amounts of money to stimulate the U.S. economy.

Killefer oversees McKinsey's management consulting for government clients. During 1997-2000 in the Clinton administration, Killefer was assistant Treasury secretary for management. As such she was the chief financial officer and chief operating officer for the Treasury and its 160,000 employees and led a modernization of its largest component, the Internal Revenue Service.

Again someone involved with running the IRS who doesn't know how to pay taxes.

Funkmasterr · Post by **Funkmasterr** » February 3, 2009, 1:25 pm

Sounds like some serious change is going down! No more politics as usual!

Kilmoll the Sexy · Post by **Kilmoll the Sexy** » February 3, 2009, 1:54 pm

He sure is doing a FINE job picking them!

Spang · Post by **Spang** » February 3, 2009, 2:38 pm

Let's just focus on non-sequential bullshit for the next four years.

sarlen · Post by **sarlen** » February 3, 2009, 3:07 pm

Tom Daschle withdrew his name and frankly I think he should have sooner. We can not have people who "forget" to pay taxes and some how stay under the IRS radar for years after the fact running anything, it smells of favoritism to the powerful. I just did my part to vote out the people I thought were crooks, but I didn't do it just to have more crooks put in office(I'm not being naive with that statement, just hopeful)

Niffoni · Post by **Niffoni** » February 3, 2009, 3:48 pm

Obama is a fucking genius.

All he has to do is keep nominating random members of congress for positions in his cabinet, and hundreds of thousands of dollars in back taxes and "forgotten" penalties will continue to flow into the system every week.

Shit, if he calls in a few of Cheney's old buddies, you could probably wipe out your entire national debt by the end of March.

What's the tally so far? He's gotta have raised at least 200k by now.

Fash · Post by **Fash** » February 3, 2009, 3:52 pm

Spare the nomination, just do the 'vetting' or whatever turns this info up the second someone is nominated. Automatically, for every elected official, every year.

Sabek · Post by **Sabek** » February 3, 2009, 4:00 pm

Niffoni wrote:Obama is a fucking genius.

All he has to do is keep nominating random members of congress for positions in his cabinet, and hundreds of thousands of dollars in back taxes and "forgotten" penalties will continue to flow into the system every week.

Shit, if he calls in a few of Cheney's old buddies, you could probably wipe out your entire national debt by the end of March.

What's the tally so far? He's gotta have raised at least 200k by now.

Well Daschle was 128k, and Geithner was 100k+ I believe.

Xyun · Post by **Xyun** » February 3, 2009, 11:05 pm

President Obama admits he made a mistake. Nonetheless, Republicans say they are losing patience after only 2 weeks.

Oh how soon we forget...

Those of us who haven't forgotten the hypocrisy wrote: June 2003: Bush Urges Patience in Search for WMD

June 2004: Bush Urges Patience with Iraqi Plans at G8 Summit

Jan 2005: Bush Urges Patience on Iraq as Election Nears

June 2005: Bush Urges Patience, Long View on Iraq War

Aug 2005: Bush Calls for Patience on Iraq Mission

Nov 2005: Bush Urges Patience with Iraq Training

March 2006: Bush Calls on Americans to Show Patience with Iraq

June 2006: After Iraq Visit, Bush Urges Patience

Aug 2006: Bush Urges Patience on Iraq, Speed in Lebanon

Oct 2006: Conceding Missteps, Bush Urges Patience on Iraq

Nov 2006: Bush Urges Patience on Winning Iraq War

March 2007: Bush Pleads for Patience in Iraq War

May 2007: Bush Urges Patience on Iraq

June 2007: Bush Urges Patience on Iraq

July 2007: War In Year 5; Bush Requests Patience

Aug 2007: Bush Pleads for More Patience for Iraq War Efforts

I'm actually very glad that the media scrutinizes Democratic presidents so much more than Republican ones. With all the criminality of the Bush administration, we should never elect a Republican president again, since Democrats are held to a much higher standard.

Spang · Post by **Spang** » February 4, 2009, 2:25 am

What's wrong with pimps paying their taxes?!

Pimp Neglected To Pay His Taxes

HOUSTON (CN) - A former pimp who failed to report more than half a million dollars of his income pleaded guilty to one count of tax evasion in district court, federal prosecutors said.

Randall Bradley Jones, 42, ran six houses of prostitution in Houston that he called "Escape Lounges" and ran under the auspices of his solely held company, Amazing Promotions Group, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Prostitutes who worked for Jones placed part of their earnings into safes at the lounges, authorities say, and he collected it and created records. He declared taxable income of $140,450 in 2003 but actually earned $667,000, according to his plea agreement, and he admitted that he and his corporation owe the IRS nearly $666,000.

The Houston Police Department executed search warrants on the lounges in 2004 and found documents implicating Jones, according to the Houston Chronicle.

Jones faces up to 5 years in prison, and a fine of $250,000 at his May 1 sentencing.

The Source.

Aslanna · Post by **Aslanna** » February 4, 2009, 2:43 am

I think the big question here is: Was he a Democrat or a Republican?

Boogahz · Post by **Boogahz** » February 4, 2009, 10:06 am

I bet he was with the Green party!

Kilmoll the Sexy · Post by **Kilmoll the Sexy** » February 4, 2009, 10:46 am

I like what Boehner is doing. He is quite obviously doing the Obama and setting himself up for a run at the White House. Notice how he is making an effort to get Obama involved in stopping Dem stupidity and is purely placing blame on one of the real sources of liberal ineptitude....Pelosi? The only real question is going to be when to run him....which probably depends a lot on Obama's popularity once 2011 or so rolls around. If it were me I would throw Romney or Huckabeee out there if it looks like a no-win and save a Boehner ticket for 2016 for a sure thing.

Fairweather Pure · Post by **Fairweather Pure** » February 4, 2009, 2:07 pm

You see it as a Democratic problem. I see it a as a class problem. It's not the Dems vs Republicans, it's the privileged vs everyone else. That crosses both party lines and all manner of upper class.

Sort em out. Get the right people in there. That's what this entire process is all about, so it appears to be working rather well from my perspective.

Btw, I do not believe the Republicans stand a chance in hell at gaining a majority in a very long time, much less a presidency. The elcetion of Boehner is hilarious IMO. Just 1 year ago, he wouldn't have been taken seriously. I have to admit, that is a pretty fast adjustment for the Republicans though.

We could very well see the Republican party splitting within the next 8 years. One side would be financially conservative while the other would be socially conservative. Right now, the combination is it's own worst enemy. The educated fiscal conservatives are tolerating the social conservatives only because they require the strong voter base.

Fash · Post by **Fash** » February 4, 2009, 2:40 pm

Fairweather Pure wrote:The election of Boehner is hilarious IMO. Just 1 year ago, he wouldn't have been taken seriously. I have to admit, that is a pretty fast adjustment for the Republicans though.

Rewind 4 years and replace Boehner with Obama.

Spang · Post by **Spang** » February 4, 2009, 2:48 pm

Fash wrote:Rewind 4 years and replace Boehner with Obama.

Very well.

Barack Obama wrote:Thank you so much. Thank you so much. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you so much. Thank you so much. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, Dick Durbin. You make us all proud.

On behalf of the great state of Illinois, crossroads of a nation, Land of Lincoln, let me express my deepest gratitude for the privilege of addressing this convention.

Tonight is a particular honor for me because - let's face it - my presence on this stage is pretty unlikely. My father was a foreign student, born and raised in a small village in Kenya. He grew up herding goats, went to school in a tin-roof shack. His father - my grandfather - was a cook, a domestic servant to the British.

But my grandfather had larger dreams for his son. Through hard work and perseverance my father got a scholarship to study in a magical place, America, that shone as a beacon of freedom and opportunity to so many who had come before.

While studying here, my father met my mother. She was born in a town on the other side of the world, in Kansas. Her father worked on oil rigs and farms through most of the Depression. The day after Pearl Harbor my grandfather signed up for duty; joined Patton's army, marched across Europe. Back home, my grandmother raised their baby and went to work on a bomber assembly line. After the war, they studied on the G.I. Bill, bought a house through FHA, and later moved west all the way to Hawaii in search of opportunity.

And they, too, had big dreams for their daughter. A common dream, born of two continents.

My parents shared not only an improbable love, they shared an abiding faith in the possibilities of this nation. They would give me an African name, Barack, or "blessed," believing that in a tolerant America your name is no barrier to success. They imagined me going to the best schools in the land, even though they weren't rich, because in a generous America you don't have to be rich to achieve your potential.

They are both passed away now. And yet, I know that, on this night, they look down on me with great pride.

I stand here today, grateful for the diversity of my heritage, aware that my parents' dreams live on in my two precious daughters. I stand here knowing that my story is part of the larger American story, that I owe a debt to all of those who came before me, and that, in no other country on earth, is my story even possible.

Tonight, we gather to affirm the greatness of our nation - not because of the height of our skyscrapers, or the power of our military, or the size of our economy. Our pride is based on a very simple premise, summed up in a declaration made over two hundred years ago: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal. That they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights. That among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness."

That is the true genius of America - a faith in simple dreams, an insistence on small miracles. That we can tuck in our children at night and know that they are fed and clothed and safe from harm. That we can say what we think, write what we think, without hearing a sudden knock on the door. That we can have an idea and start our own business without paying a bribe. That we can participate in the political process without fear of retribution, and that our votes will be counted at least, most of the time.

This year, in this election, we are called to reaffirm our values and our commitments, to hold them against a hard reality and see how we are measuring up, to the legacy of our forbearers, and the promise of future generations.

And fellow Americans, Democrats, Republicans, Independents - I say to you tonight: we have more work to do. More work to do for the workers I met in Galesburg, Illinois, who are losing their union jobs at the Maytag plant that's moving to Mexico, and now are having to compete with their own children for jobs that pay seven bucks an hour. More to do for the father that I met who was losing his job and choking back the tears, wondering how he would pay $4,500 a month for the drugs his son needs without the health benefits that he counted on. More to do for the young woman in East St. Louis, and thousands more like her, who has the grades, has the drive, has the will, but doesn't have the money to go to college.

Now don't get me wrong. The people I meet - in small towns and big cities, in diners and office parks - they don't expect government to solve all their problems. They know they have to work hard to get ahead - and they want to.

Go into the collar counties around Chicago, and people will tell you they don't want their tax money wasted, by a welfare agency or by the Pentagon.

Go into any inner city neighborhood, and folks will tell you that government alone can't teach our kids to learn - they know that parents have to teach, that children can't achieve unless we raise their expectations and turn off the television sets and eradicate the slander that says a black youth with a book is acting white. They know those things.

People don't expect government to solve all their problems. But they sense, deep in their bones, that with just a slight change in priorities, we can make sure that every child in America has a decent shot at life, and that the doors of opportunity remain open to all.

They know we can do better. And they want that choice.

In this election, we offer that choice. Our Party has chosen a man to lead us who embodies the best this country has to offer. And that man is John Kerry. John Kerry understands the ideals of community, faith, and service because they've defined his life. From his heroic service to Vietnam, to his years as a prosecutor and lieutenant governor, through two decades in the United States Senate, he has devoted himself to this country. Again and again, we've seen him make tough choices when easier ones were available.

His values - and his record - affirm what is best in us. John Kerry believes in an America where hard work is rewarded; so instead of offering tax breaks to companies shipping jobs overseas, he offers them to companies creating jobs here at home.

John Kerry believes in an America where all Americans can afford the same health coverage our politicians in Washington have for themselves.

John Kerry believes in energy independence, so we aren't held hostage to the profits of oil companies, or the sabotage of foreign oil fields.

John Kerry believes in the Constitutional freedoms that have made our country the envy of the world, and he will never sacrifice our basic liberties, nor use faith as a wedge to divide us.

And John Kerry believes that in a dangerous world war must be an option sometimes, but it should never be the first option.

You know, a while back, I met a young man named Shamus [Seamus?] in a VFW Hall in East Moline, Illinois. He was a good-looking kid, six-two, six-three, clear eyed, with an easy smile. He told me he'd joined the Marines, and was heading to Iraq the following week. And as I listened to him explain why he'd enlisted, the absolute faith he had in our country and its leaders, his devotion to duty and service, I thought this young man was all that any of us might hope for in a child. But then I asked myself: Are we serving Shamus as well as he is serving us?

I thought of the 900 men and women - sons and daughters, husbands and wives, friends and neighbors, who won't be returning to their own hometowns. I thought of the families I've met who were struggling to get by without a loved one's full income, or whose loved ones had returned with a limb missing or nerves shattered, but who still lacked long-term health benefits because they were Reservists.

When we send our young men and women into harm's way, we have a solemn obligation not to fudge the numbers or shade the truth about why they're going, to care for their families while they're gone, to tend to the soldiers upon their return, and to never ever go to war without enough troops to win the war, secure the peace, and earn the respect of the world.

Now let me be clear. Let me be clear. We have real enemies in the world. These enemies must be found. They must be pursued - and they must be defeated. John Kerry knows this.

And just as Lieutenant Kerry did not hesitate to risk his life to protect the men who served with him in Vietnam, President Kerry will not hesitate one moment to use our military might to keep America safe and secure.

John Kerry believes in America. And he knows that it's not enough for just some of us to prosper. For alongside our famous individualism, there's another ingredient in the American saga. A belief that we're all connected as one people.

If there is a child on the south side of Chicago who can't read, that matters to me, even if it's not my child. If there's a senior citizen somewhere who can't pay for their prescription drugs, and has to choose between medicine and the rent, that makes my life poorer, even if it's not my grandparent. If there's an Arab American family being rounded up without benefit of an attorney or due process, that threatens my civil liberties.

It is that fundamental belief, it is that fundamental belief, I am my brother's keeper, I am my sister's keeper that makes this country work. It's what allows us to pursue our individual dreams and yet still come together as one American family.

E pluribus unum. Out of many, one.

Now even as we speak, there are those who are preparing to divide us, the spin masters, the negative ad peddlers who embrace the politics of anything goes. Well, I say to them tonight, there is not a liberal America and a conservative America - there is the United States of America. There is not a Black America and a White America and Latino America and Asian America - there's the United States of America.

The pundits, the pundits like to slice-and-dice our country into Red States and Blue States; Red States for Republicans, Blue States for Democrats. But I've got news for them, too. We worship an awesome God in the Blue States, and we don't like federal agents poking around in our libraries in the Red States. We coach Little League in the Blue States and yes, we've got some gay friends in the Red States. There are patriots who opposed the war in Iraq and there are patriots who supported the war in Iraq.

We are one people, all of us pledging allegiance to the stars and stripes, all of us defending the United States of America. In the end, that's what this election is about. Do we participate in a politics of cynicism or do we participate in a politics of hope?

John Kerry calls on us to hope. John Edwards calls on us to hope.

I'm not talking about blind optimism here - the almost willful ignorance that thinks unemployment will go away if we just don't think about it, or the health care crisis will solve itself if we just ignore it. That's not what I'm talking about. I'm talking about something more substantial. It's the hope of slaves sitting around a fire singing freedom songs. The hope of immigrants setting out for distant shores. The hope of a young naval lieutenant bravely patrolling the Mekong Delta. The hope of a millworker's son who dares to defy the odds. The hope of a skinny kid with a funny name who believes that America has a place for him, too.

Hope in the face of difficulty. Hope in the face of uncertainty. The audacity of hope! In the end, that is God's greatest gift to us, the bedrock of this nation. A belief in things not seen. A belief that there are better days ahead.

I believe that we can give our middle class relief and provide working families with a road to opportunity. I believe we can provide jobs to the jobless, homes to the homeless, and reclaim young people in cities across America from violence and despair. I believe that we have a righteous wind at our backs and that as we stand on the crossroads of history, we can make the right choices, and meet the challenges that face us.

America! Tonight, if you feel the same energy that I do, if you feel the same urgency that I do, if you feel the same passion I do, if you feel the same hopefulness that I do - if we do what we must do, then I have no doubts that all across the country, from Florida to Oregon, from Washington to Maine, the people will rise up in November, and John Kerry will be sworn in as president, and John Edwards will be sworn in as vice president, and this country will reclaim its promise, and out of this long political darkness a brighter day will come.

Thank you very much everybody. God bless you. Thank you.

Ashur · Post by **Ashur** » February 4, 2009, 5:53 pm

Another.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123367405418643627.html

Performance Czar Killefer Withdraws Candidacy

By LAURA MECKLER

Nancy Killefer, nominated by President Barack Obama to be the federal government's first chief performance officer, is withdrawing from the post, the White House said Tuesday.

"I recognize that your agenda and the duties facing your Chief Performance Officer are urgent," Killefer wrote in a letter to the president asking him to withdraw her name. "I have also come to realize in the current environment that my personal tax issue of D.C. Unemployment tax could be used to create exactly the kind of distraction and delay those duties must avoid."

A White House spokeswoman said more information would be released later in the day.

In making the appointment, Mr. Obama said the appointment of Ms. Killefer, an executive at the consulting firm McKinsey & Co., was "among the most important that I will make."

Ms. Killefer, 55 years old, failed to pay employment taxes on household help for a year and a half, the Associated Press reported. In 2005, the AP said, the District of Columbia filed a $946.69 tax lien on her home for failure to pay the unemployment compensation tax. The error was resolved five months later.

Ms. Killefer is the third Obama nominee to confront tax problems. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner was confirmed despite disclosure about his failure to pay certain taxes. Tom Daschle, Obama's pick for Health and Human Services, is under scrutiny for his delinquent payment of some $140,000 in taxes and interest.

An administration official confirmed that she is withdrawing over a tax problem. The official said that the matter surfacing during the vetting that took place before her nomination was announced and the Obama team decided to move forward anyway.

"But the environment changed," the official said. "On the heels of Geithner and Daschle, she just didn't want to go through with it."

Boogahz · Post by **Boogahz** » February 4, 2009, 6:07 pm

$946.69

Ashur · Post by **Ashur** » February 4, 2009, 6:22 pm

I saw that Boog. I thought it was a retarded reason to use that as a reason to pull out (I wouldn't have in her shoes), but it highlights the issue.

Xyun · Post by **Xyun** » February 4, 2009, 6:23 pm

I owe the IRS way more than that... waaaaaay more than that.

Ashur · Post by **Ashur** » February 4, 2009, 6:23 pm

Pay up slackass.

Xyun · Post by **Xyun** » February 4, 2009, 6:28 pm

I'm broke and unemployed...

Aslanna · Post by **Aslanna** » February 4, 2009, 8:30 pm

Xyun wrote:I owe the IRS way more than that... waaaaaay more than that.

Democrat, obviously. If we didn't know before we sure would now! If you were a Republican you would always pay your taxes. At leat that's what this thread teaches me.

Gonzoie - Luclin · Post by **Gonzoie - Luclin** » February 5, 2009, 1:36 am

Aslanna wrote:
Xyun wrote:I owe the IRS way more than that... waaaaaay more than that.
Democrat, obviously. If we didn't know before we sure would now! If you were a Republican you would always pay your taxes. At leat that's what this thread teaches me.

If you're republican you defer your taxes.

Kilmoll the Sexy · Post by **Kilmoll the Sexy** » February 5, 2009, 10:52 am

Xyun wrote:I owe the IRS way more than that... waaaaaay more than that.

You should be next up for a nomination to oversee the IRS then! I would send in your application quick...but make sure to lie on there about your 2nd Amendment beliefs (since Obama's application specifically asks about it)

Fenna · Post by **Fenna** » February 5, 2009, 11:48 am

Does anyone really believe any republican could get away with not paying their taxes? Some believe they can "cover it up" better, which is whacko conspiracy thinking. The evidence shows the media will descend on any republican and expose any possible flaw in their past, and not let up. If a republican ordered something on Amazon.com and didn't pay their state taxes on that item it would make front-page news.

That being said, it is kind of nice to have fluffy, soft-ball main stream news coverage of all of this. So far I'm very pleased that Obama is in the White House.

Zaelath · Post by **Zaelath** » February 5, 2009, 7:00 pm

Fenna wrote:Does anyone really believe any republican could get away with not paying their taxes? Some believe they can "cover it up" better, which is whacko conspiracy thinking. The evidence shows the media will descend on any republican and expose any possible flaw in their past, and not let up. If a republican ordered something on Amazon.com and didn't pay their state taxes on that item it would make front-page news.

That being said, it is kind of nice to have fluffy, soft-ball main stream news coverage of all of this. So far I'm very pleased that Obama is in the White House.

And when did the media become omnipotent again?

Gonzoie - Luclin · Post by **Gonzoie - Luclin** » February 6, 2009, 1:36 am

Fenna wrote:Does anyone really believe any republican could get away with not paying their taxes? Some believe they can "cover it up" better, which is whacko conspiracy thinking. The evidence shows the media will descend on any republican and expose any possible flaw in their past, and not let up. If a republican ordered something on Amazon.com and didn't pay their state taxes on that item it would make front-page news.

That being said, it is kind of nice to have fluffy, soft-ball main stream news coverage of all of this. So far I'm very pleased that Obama is in the White House.

Differing and not paying taxes is just a conspiracy theory??

Under pressure from federal authorities, the Swiss bank UBS is closing the hidden offshore accounts of its well-heeled American clients, potentially allowing their secrets to spill into the open. In a step that would have once been unthinkable in the rarefied world of Swiss banking, UBS will shut about 19,000 accounts that prosecutors suspect have gone undeclared to the Internal Revenue Service.

Go ahead and tell me that none of those 19,000 will be republican.

Spang · Post by **Spang** » February 6, 2009, 1:42 am

I don't have any Swiss bank accounts, but I do enjoy the taste of Swiss Miss hot cocoa.

Aslanna · Post by **Aslanna** » February 6, 2009, 2:07 am

Looks like Winnow might be in trouble when that secret Swiss account is revealed...

Sueven · Post by **Sueven** » February 18, 2009, 2:17 pm

http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/ ... taxes.html

Ben Smith wrote:The personal cost of the 2008 vice presidential campaign just rose for Sarah Palin, with state authorities ruling that she must pay back taxes on the per diems she received while staying at her Wasilla home.

Fenna wrote:The evidence shows the media will descend on any republican and expose any possible flaw in their past, and not let up. If a republican ordered something on Amazon.com and didn't pay their state taxes on that item it would make front-page news.

Awaiting the media furor...

Kilmoll the Sexy · Post by **Kilmoll the Sexy** » February 18, 2009, 2:23 pm

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/

(CNN) – Alaska officials have told Gov. Sarah Palin she must pay back taxes on the thousands of dollars she received in state per diem funds while living at her home in Wasilla.

The Washington Post first reported last September that Palin had billed the state for nearly $17,000 worth of meals and other living expenses while staying in her own home during the first 19 months of her administration, even though the official governor’s residence is in Juneau.

The news clouded Palin’s self-styled image as a small government reformer, just weeks after she was tapped as John McCain’s running mate. At the time, Palin’s office said the governor was entitled to the payments.

Alaska administration commissioner Annette Kreitzner told the Anchorage Daily News on Tuesday that the governor’s office had asked the office to review the tax treatment of the per diem payments after questions about the funds were raised.

Kreitzner told the paper that following the review, the per diem payments will be treated as income and that a revised W-2 statement will be sent to the governor.

Palin’s office would not say how much she owes in back taxes, or if she would continue to receive the payments.

“The amount of taxes owed is a private matter,” Palin spokeswoman Sharon Leighow told the paper. “If the governor collects future per diem, those documents would be a matter of public record.”

Front page CNN news.

Canelek · Post by **Canelek** » February 18, 2009, 2:27 pm

She reminds me of my former CEO who spent 1.2 million on an office rennovation....well, he sure ain't around anymore!

miir · Post by **miir** » February 18, 2009, 2:46 pm

Kilmoll the Sexy wrote:Front page CNN news.

I had to click 3 times to from the CNN front page to get to that story.

Awaiting the media furor...

That furor brewed for 5 months.

Kilmoll the Sexy · Post by **Kilmoll the Sexy** » February 18, 2009, 3:01 pm

miir wrote:
Kilmoll the Sexy wrote:Front page CNN news.
I had to click 3 times to from the CNN front page to get to that story.

maybe things work differently in 3rd world countries

Post by **Sylvus** » February 18, 2009, 3:50 pm

Yeah, it wasn't like the breaking news on CNN for me either. There was a small link to it on the front page though.

Kilmoll the Sexy wrote:maybe things work differently in 3rd world countries

While I agree it's bad, Ohio is a state, not a country.

Canelek · Post by **Canelek** » February 18, 2009, 4:11 pm

Not once they erect the Maurice Clarett statue!

Kilmoll the Sexy · Post by **Kilmoll the Sexy** » February 18, 2009, 4:32 pm

I heard that we have a bill in the works to secede if Michigan beats OSU in football. That should guarantee us not seceding for at least a decade.

Sueven · Post by **Sueven** » February 18, 2009, 5:06 pm

The political ticker is hardly front page news; it's basically a political blog with a link on the front page. Regardless, it wasn't there when I posted.

That said though, this is a pretty pedantic post on my part-- these aren't even back taxes; they're taxes for this year that someone determined she had to pay, and so she's paying them. I'll admit it's a stupid post, but I think the idea that "REPUBLICANS WOULD GET RAKED OVER THE COALS FOR THIS AND DEMOCRATS DON'T" is just as stupid as the reverse. They'll get raked over in somewhat different ways by somewhat different people, that's all.

Sabek · Post by **Sabek** » February 19, 2009, 3:07 pm

Canelek wrote:Not once they erect the Maurice Clarett statue!

OSU fans hate Clarrett for the embarrassment he brought on the program.
Won't find anyone wanting to erect anything for him here.

Sueven · Post by **Sueven** » February 19, 2009, 3:12 pm

Despite the fact that he was responsible for OSU's only national title in something like 40 years?