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Another Cabinet Appointee With Tax Problems

BPSCG

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ABC News has learned that the nomination of former Senator Majority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D., to be President Obama's secretary of health and human services has hit a traffic snarl on its way through the Senate Finance Committee.

The controversy deals with a car and driver lent to Daschle by a wealthy Democratic friend -- a chauffeur service the former senator used for years without declaring it on his taxes.

(...snip...)

The Cadillac and driver were never part of Daschle's official compensation package at InterMedia, but Mr. Daschle -- who as Senate majority leader enjoyed the use of a car and driver at taxpayer expense -- didn't declare their services on his income taxes, as tax laws require.

During the vetting process to become HHS secretary, Daschle corrected the tax violation, voluntarily paying $101,943 in back taxes plus interest, working with his accountant to amend his tax returns for 2005 through 2007.

(Daschle reimbursed the IRS $31,462 in taxes and interest for tax year 2005; $35,546 for 2006; and $34,935 for 2007, a Daschle spokesperson said, adding that Daschle had asked his accountant to look into the tax implications of the car and driver five months before Obama won the presidency.)

(...snip...)

In a speech to his fellow Republican House members, Rep. Eric Cantor, R-Va., compared Daschle's issue with the tax problems that hindered the confirmation of Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and those of Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., who is embroiled in a controversy over payment of taxes on a beachfront villa in the Dominican Republic.

"A pattern is developing," Cantor said. "The pattern is solidified. ... It's easy for the other side to sit here and advocate higher taxes because -- you know what? -- they don't pay them.
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Just for perspective: Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner had to pay $34,000 in back taxes after he got caught cheating on his returns - barely a third of what Daschle is in hot water for now.
 
BPSCG said:
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Just for perspective: Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner had to pay $34,000 in back taxes after he got caught cheating on his returns - barely a third of what Daschle is in hot water for now.
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It was just another honest mistake and he is too valuable to let this stand in the way of confirmation.

:rolleyes:
 
I don't see why this is a problem. Repeat tax cheat Geithner is head of the IRS now, so what's the big deal if Daschle is a tax cheat? Just pay up and move up. Maybe it's all a part of the plan for 95% of Americans to pay less taxes. Simply stop paying, and only 5% get caught. There's your 95% reduction.

Hope'n'Change, just say no to taxes.
 
I'm curious, how much were the back taxes owed out of the total amount of taxes paid?
 
quixotecoyote said:
I'm curious, how much were the back taxes owed out of the total amount of taxes paid?
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I think Daschle paid 250k on 4 million of income. In his case this was not back taxes it was considered unreported income and for you and me that would be a big deal.
 
Daschle's tax problems escalate

ABC News has obtained the Senate Finance Committee Report on Tom Daschle's nomination to be Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, which indicates that Daschle's tax problems were even more substantial than earlier reported.

The report indicates that Daschle's failure to pay more than $101,000 taxes on the car and driver a wealthy friend let him use from 2005 through 2007 is not the only tax issue the former Senate Majority Leader has been dealing with since his December nomination prompted a more thorough examination of his income tax returns.

Mr. Daschle also didn't report $83,333 in consulting income in 2007.
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It seems that Mr. Daschle did not identify the problem himself as previously reported:

The Senate Finance Committee Report also notes that during the vetting process, President Obama's Transition Team "identified certain donations that did not qualify as charitable deductions because they were not paid to qualifying organizations.
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More to come:

The Finance Committee staff still is reviewing whether travel and entertainment services provided Tom and Linda Daschle by EduCap, Inc., Catherine B. Reynolds Foundation, Academy Achievement, and Loan to Learn should be reported as income. Earlier this month, the Wall Street Journal reported that Daschle made use of the jet belonging to EduCap, a non-profit student loan organization.
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I'm confused - is this Hope or Change?
 
Good point. Where you when W appointed Brownie? Or when Cheney was elected? Or when ...

I guess that some folks don't realize how messed up the US tax code is, and how easy it is to find that an "interpretation" has changed here or there.
 
jj said:
Good point. Where you when W appointed Brownie? Or when Cheney was elected? Or when ...

I guess that some folks don't realize how messed up the US tax code is, and how easy it is to find that an "interpretation" has changed here or there.
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I don't recall either of them having tax problems much less running the IRS as Geithner does.
 
jj said:
Good point. Where you when W appointed Brownie? Or when Cheney was elected? Or when ...

I guess that some folks don't realize how messed up the US tax code is, and how easy it is to find that an "interpretation" has changed here or there.
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Bush had 2 cabinet nominees that had "nanny" problems and pulled them when revealed. Linda Chavez and Bernie Kerik.
 
jj said:
I guess that some folks don't realize how messed up the US tax code is, and how easy it is to find that an "interpretation" has changed here or there.
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Yeah, um... no. If your taxes are complicated enough that you can't be certain of how to correctly handle them, hire someone. It's not that expensive (certainly not for people making the kind of money they're making), and if there's a mistake, there's someone to take responsibility for it. The tax code is far more complex and burdensome than it should be, but that is no simply excuse, not for someone who wants to be part of the federal government at this level. People like you and me would be hit with penalties for this kind of screw-up, innocent or not. But the rules apparently only apply to us little people.
 
Ziggurat said:
Yeah, um... no. If your taxes are complicated enough that you can't be certain of how to correctly handle them, hire someone. It's not that expensive (certainly not for people making the kind of money they're making), and if there's a mistake, there's someone to take responsibility for it. The tax code is far more complex and burdensome than it should be, but that is no simply excuse, not for someone who wants to be part of the federal government at this level. People like you and me would be hit with penalties for this kind of screw-up, innocent or not. But the rules apparently only apply to us little people.
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Yep, I have done my own taxes all of my working life but when my wife inherited a trust there was NO way I would ever try to file that return. When we got the forms back from the accountant the forms were a quarter inch thick.
 
The thing that irratates me is that in both cases these were not "mistakes" they appear to be deliberate non-reporting of income. That is the worst sin in the IRS bible at least for us.
 
This also seems vaguely corrupt. Who was this "wealthy friend" who lent Daschle a car and driver? Just because they're great buddies?

This seems worse than the Geithner thing to me.
 
Puppycow said:
This also seems vaguely corrupt. Who was this "wealthy friend" who lent Daschle a car and driver? Just because they're great buddies?

This seems worse than the Geithner thing to me.
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The Geithner issue is worse for me. Being Treasury Secretary he is in charge of the IRS. That creates a moral hazard when it comes to citizens being honest on their taxes. From what I have read, his salary was "grossed" up by the IMF to cover the taxes he didn't pay so he knew he was liable for them but just didn't pay them until he became the nominee.
 
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Daschle Knew of Tax Issues Over Car Use Last June

WASHINGTON — President Obama’s choice for health secretary, Tom Daschle, was aware as early as last June that he might have to pay back taxes for the use of a car and driver provided by a private equity firm, but did not inform the Obama transition team until weeks after Mr. Obama named him to the health secretary’s post, senior administration officials said Saturday.
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Puppycow said:
Daschle Knew of Tax Issues Over Car Use Last June
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I just don't get why Obama hasn't pulled this nomination yet. This can only hurt him and the position is really not that important given the economy. I cannot believe that Obama is that tin eared when it comes to politics so I still think he will dump him but he could have done it quietly today and it would have been ignored. <eta> That quote you posted appears to be a death sentence for Daschle if it came out today.
 
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