Daschle Paid Back Taxes After Vetting

[Farang]

This is bad. Not only does it make me think much less of this administration but politically I know this is a mistake. Obama came out making pledges for transparency and integrity, and when you do that you not only have to be better than everyone else you have to be perfect or you will be labeled a hypocrite. This is beyond just not-perfect, like some of the other issues were (Lynn, for example), this is downright wrong and it can be turned into a huge issue. This man (Daschle) will fail in reforming health care with the openings he is leaving his opponents.

This combined with my slight irritation at this "Middle Class Task Force" (what the fuck does that even mean?) with Biden at the head, is making me angry this week. I mean ok, we gave Biden to middle class tag as a label for the election and that works, but don't mock my intelligence by making him the head of some do-nothing "task force."

 

[Jiggz]

Originally posted by: Moonbeam
I don't like this one damn bit. I think those two assholes, at a minimum, should appear before the American people to explain why they failed to pay taxes. I want to hear from them. Otherwise, maybe they should be hooted at wherever they go in public.

I'm with you. But what is even more horrifying is that these two SOB's are so intelligent and experienced that according to liberals are the only two people out of the 300M Americans that can help the treasury and health departments! Are we that desperate? Or are that loony? That even criminals (to be) are treated like saints?

 

[Fear No Evil]

Is there a single democrat thats not a crook? Besides Red Dawn.. but I consider him a confused conservative so that may not be a good example.

 

[winr]

Originally posted by: Dari

Originally posted by: JohnnyGage

Originally posted by: Red Dawn
If never nominated and vetted I bet both of these guys would never have known they owed taxes.

Actually Timothy Geithner signed a piece of paper with the International Monetary Fund saying he would have to 1099 his taxes--and was actually paid extra to compensate for this; and then promptly blamed Turbo Tax for the mistake. He obviously didn't use Turbo Tax Deluxe!

He never blamed Turbotax. He was asked which tax software he used. After reiterating that he took full responsibility for what happened, he answered the question that was asked.

Stop lying and/or spreading disinformation.

I am not saying whether he knew or didnt know..because...I cant read minds...and neither can any of you...


What I will say is... he cant do his taxes but he can be US Treasury Secretary ???

.................................................................................................................................
Mr Geithner said the oversight was unintentional and has settled his $34,000 overdue tax bill. He apologised for the errors, calling them "careless".
..................................................................................................................................


http://www.telegraph.co.uk/new...reasury-secretary.html


I am using Timothy as an example, many of our politicians, Democrats and Republicans, if they were everyday people and pulled some of the stuff they do...they would either be fired from their jobs or be put in jail.


I have voted Democrat and Republican depending on who I think will better serve our interests.





One more thing.....


....Do you people have to resort to slinging insults and calling each other really nasty names just because you dont agree ????

...or maybe some people just like to argue ???

 

[retrospooty]

Originally posted by: Fear No Evil
Is there a single democrat thats not a crook? Besides Red Dawn.. but I consider him a confused conservative so that may not be a good example.

No, not in federal govt... Same as republicans. They are all crooks. If they werent crooks when they got to Washington, they became crooks soon after. Whats your point? To say dems are doing it and reps arent? Pfapf!

The distinction you are drawing is rich vs. poor, or more closely, those in power vs those that arent. Power corrupts... its human nature - Its not rep vs dem. Open the eyes man.

 

[Red Dawn]

I was actually disappointed that he chose Daschle, seem more like payback than anything else. Hopefully this tax thing may cause him not to be confirmed.

 

[rudder]

?Make no mistake, tax cheaters cheat us all, and the IRS should enforce our laws to the letter. ?

Sen. Tom Daschle, Congressional Record, May 7, 1998, p. S4507.

 

[BoberFett]

Originally posted by: retrospooty

Originally posted by: Fear No Evil
Is there a single democrat thats not a crook? Besides Red Dawn.. but I consider him a confused conservative so that may not be a good example.

No, not in federal govt... Same as republicans. They are all crooks. If they werent crooks when they got to Washington, they became crooks soon after. Whats your point? To say dems are doing it and reps arent? Pfapf!

The distinction you are drawing is rich vs. poor, or more closely, those in power vs those that arent. Power corrupts... its human nature - Its not rep vs dem. Open the eyes man.

:thumbsup:

 

[Doc Savage Fan]

And I was naive enough to think we would be rid of the likes of Mr. Daschle when he lost his Senate seat...if this is indicative of hope and change in action...I've had my fill.

 

[heyheybooboo]

I'm less concerned about Daschle paying his back taxes and penalties than I am about the money he has received from the health care lobby.

 

[WHAMPOM]

Originally posted by: CADsortaGUY
what is with all these libs and taxes? Why do they get to say "oops" when the rest of us would be hammered?

They are "in the closet Republicans."

 

[WHAMPOM]

Originally posted by: Fear No Evil

Originally posted by: dahunan
Betting same shit happened under bush and darth.. but they were better at hiding shit than Obama

Yeah, Obama is just too 'open'.. Bullshit. There is no way Bush could have gotten away with this. Hell, he had trouble getting extremely qualified Supreme Court justices through without a fight.

WOW! Spit-take!:shocked:More like extremely unqualified.

 

[Pocatello]

Politicians think their money belong to them, while our money belongs to the IRS. They can pat themselves in the back and give themselves a raise whenever they want. After they retire, they work as lobbyists. Talk about job security.

 

[winnar111]

Originally posted by: WHAMPOM

Originally posted by: Fear No Evil

Originally posted by: dahunan
Betting same shit happened under bush and darth.. but they were better at hiding shit than Obama

Yeah, Obama is just too 'open'.. Bullshit. There is no way Bush could have gotten away with this. Hell, he had trouble getting extremely qualified Supreme Court justices through without a fight.

WOW! Spit-take!:shocked:More like extremely unqualified.

Funny. Sam Alito had more judicial experience than the previous 10 SCOTUS nominations.

 

[Red Dawn]

I'm wouldn't that Daschle was picked because Obama owed some favors. He probably wouldn't be to heart broken if Daschle pulled his name out.

 

[CPA]

Originally posted by: quest55720
It is to the point were I just laugh at all this. It seem almost every single Obama appointee has some major issue. This is going to be a fun 4 years seeing the MSM defend all this.

As you've seen from jpeyton, Senseamp and Moonbeam, they won't defend his decisions, they'll just bring up Bush, use strawman arguments and call out the OP.

 

[CPA]

Originally posted by: Lothar

Originally posted by: winnar111
http://online.wsj.com/article/...tml?mod=googlenews_wsj

Tom Daschle, President Barack Obama's choice for secretary of Health and Human Services, paid about $140,000 in back taxes and interest after questions surfaced during the vetting of his nomination, according to documents being prepared by the Senate Finance Committee.

Mr. Daschle made the payments to cover a luxury car and driver provided to him by an investment firm where he was an adviser after leaving the U.S. Senate in 2005, but which he didn't report as income, people familiar with the report said. The payments also covered unreported consulting income and unwarranted charitable deductions. The tax period covered 2005 through 2007.

Mr. Daschle told committee staff that he had grown used to having a car and driver as Senate majority leader and didn't think to report the perquisite on his taxes, according to staff members.

Some senators have also raised concerns about two vacation trips Mr. Daschle took aboard a corporate jet belonging to nonprofit lender EduCap, which faces a separate probe by the Finance panel into its tax status.

The Finance Committee prepared a four-page staff memorandum for members after Republicans on the panel grew restive over the long confirmation delay. According to the memo, Mr. Daschle paid well $140,167 in back taxes and interest during the vetting process, amending tax returns from 2005 through 2007.

The changes reflected unreported income from the use of the car service valued at $255,256 for those three years, according to the Finance Committee report. He also amended his returns to cover $83,333 in unreported consulting income for 2007. And he reduced his charitable contributions by $14,963.

Mr. Daschle was supplied a car and driver by InterMedia Advisors LLP, an investment firm specializing in buyouts and industry consolidation. Mr. Daschle served as chairman of the firm's executive advisory board.

My question is, why should he have to report it as income? Hasn't the company already paid taxes on that money?
When my mom gave me my car, I didn't report it as income on my taxes. Should I have done so?
It's not like he was given $255,000 cash by the company and told "spend it anyway you see fit." If that was the case, then yes he absolutely should pay taxes on it.

Everyone has to pay SS/Medicare tax. Geithner was stupid.
Daschle was stupid in over reporting his charitable donations and not reporting his consulting income.
However, I don't see why someone should have to pay taxes on using a car/corporate jet provided by a company/person already paid for within the means of doing business.
The taxes should come from the other person's pocket, not him.

Where is CPA and Eaglekeeper when you need them?

It's taxable as a fringe benefit.

What really catches my eye is the "unwarranted charitable deductions". Obviously, he made up or stretched some "giving".

 

[CPA]

Originally posted by: Jiggz

Originally posted by: Lothar

My question is, why should he have to report it as income? Hasn't the company already paid taxes on that money?
When my mom gave me my car, I didn't report it as income on my taxes. Should I have done so?
It's not like he was given $255,000 cash by the company and told "spend it anyway you see fit." If that was the case, then yes he absolutely should pay taxes on it.

Everyone has to pay SS/Medicare tax. Geithner was stupid.
Daschle was stupid in over reporting his charitable donations and not reporting his consulting income.
However, I don't see why someone should have to pay taxes on using a car/corporate jet provided by a company/person already paid for within the means of doing business.
The taxes should come from the other person's pocket, not him.

Where is CPA and Eaglekeeper when you need them?

I believe the reason the "cash gifts" were discovered is because the Giver actually filed for tax deductions for the gifts. Which means taxes needs to be paid by the Receiver! In your "mom->car->me" analogy, your mom already paid all taxes for the gift and did not file for tax deductions (as gifts or contributions). If she wanted, she could have filed tax deductions for giving you the car, the same way when we contribute or give donations to charities.

uh, no she can't, unless you are a charitable organization.

And this was not a gift, this was a taxable fringe benefit to an employee. He was an advisor for the company.

 

[BoberFett]

Originally posted by: CPA

Originally posted by: quest55720
It is to the point were I just laugh at all this. It seem almost every single Obama appointee has some major issue. This is going to be a fun 4 years seeing the MSM defend all this.

As you've seen from jpeyton, Senseamp and Moonbeam, they won't defend his decisions, they'll just bring up Bush, use strawman arguments and call out the OP.

Which is truly the worst part of Bush's legacy. As long as he doesn't invade a middle eastern country, Obama can get away with just about anything.

Obama could have sex with an underage male prostitute while doing blow and torturing puppies and the response would be "Bush invaded Iraq."

 

[idiotekniQues]

strong obama supporter here, and i think there is no doubt that Obama should kick Daschle to the curb about now.

wrong move if he doesnt.

 

[Moonbeam]

Sadly, the best guy for the job apparently is a tax cheat. Bad break, I guess.

 

[Budmantom]

Originally posted by: idiotekniQues
strong obama supporter here, and i think there is no doubt that Obama should kick Daschle to the curb about now.

wrong move if he doesnt.

No reason to stop there.

 

[woodie1]

Didn't he lobby or at least receive money from the very people he will now regulate?

 

[fskimospy]

Originally posted by: woodie1
Didn't he lobby or at least receive money from the very people he will now regulate?

He was a senator, he's always gotten money from the very people he regulated?

 

[Mxylplyx]

I dont think this should affect his selection at all. I think it should serve as a stark reminder of just how over complicated our tax code is, and how much resources are wasted each year trying to navigate the millions of pages of tax code. Most of these guys in Washington, especially former lawmakers who have moved to the private sector, are making all kinds of money from tons of different sources. Daschle made over 2 million last year from consulting, policy speaches, etc, etc. Tax filings for people like that must be insane, and are probably never perfect, and I'm sure he probably had a tax accountant do them as well. This isnt income he failed to pay taxes on, it was a gift from a business associate in the form of a car and driver. He was driven around Washington for years, and probably didnt think about the tax implications of doing that in the private sector, and I'll bet most of you would have easily made the same mistake.