Senator McCaskill failed to pay personal property taxes

[EagleKeeper]

Every year the county sends you a personal property declaration statement that specifically asks about aircraft as well as other personal property like vehicles. This statement must be signed and returned every year.

http://revenue.stlouisco.com/Assessment/Declaration/BUS-MFG%20INSTRUCTIONS.pdf

PAGE FOUR
You should report all vehicles, which should include all cars, trucks, trailers, boats motorcycles, ATVs and aircraft that are titled in the name of your business entity. Do not include leased vehicles or farm equipment in this section. Vehicles titled in an individual’s name must be reported on that person’s individual personal property account, and not on the business account. Houseboats should be reported to the county where they are docked, and aircraft should be reported to the county in which they are hangared. Please give us complete and detailed information as requested on the form. Information provided should include VIN, motorcycle cc’s, trailer description and length, aircraft N ‐number, etc.​

Please sign and date the form at the bottom of Page Four. An unsigned form is not a properly prepared declaration and may not be accepted by the Assessor. Please provide us with a contact name, phone number and email address, in the event we have any questions about your rendition. Please be certain to return your declaration to our office by March 1 to avoid a late filing penalty, as mandated by statute.

The aircraft is owned by a corporation based in Delaware.
The county would have no knowledge to send the documents there.

 

[Doc Savage Fan]

The aircraft is owned by a corporation based in Delaware.
The county would have no knowledge to send the documents there.

It was hangered at Chesterfeild Airport. Also Claire receives and has to personally sign the document every year.

 

[boomerang]

No, every single public official....no matter their party affiliation or whether they serve at the local, state or federal level.

Riiight...

 

[Darwin333]

Well, we and Rush Limbaugh all know what this means, if one dinomorat fails to pay any and all property taxes, all dimorats are equally guilty, but if a single republirat does the same, they are only single isolated incidents.

Gee I had no idea I had to pay property taxes on that airplane I do not own. But if I were a politician, I would think I could write off the airplane as a cost of being a politician and staying in touch with constituents.

Silly Clare, she should have accepted free airplane rides from lobbyists like republirats do.

Then there are the sane ones amongst us that don't think this is an issue with the left or right thing but is simply an issue with politicians in general.

Sorry to interrupt yalls shit slinging.

 

[Darwin333]

Are we sure she isn't a republican? Sounds similar to a "family values" politician caught with a homosexual, type irony.

What part of not paying ones taxes sounds like a person being a closet homosexual?

Maybe you have it backwards, are we sure the closet homosexuals aren't really democrats? Sounds similar to a "higher penalties for avoiding taxes" politician caught avoiding taxes, type irony?

Sounds pretty absurd doesn't it? Oh, wait, its because your team is the Democrats right? I get it now, kinda like when your football team has a call go their way when it shouldn't have yet you still agree with the ref.

 

[JeffreyLebowski]

Well why do you think they are pushing for higher taxes? It's to make up for the taxes they don't pay.

Tax cuts for the rich, Tax elimination for the Democrats.

She took a class on how to dodge taxes taught by Charlie Rangel, Chair of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee.

Wasn't that the class that was held on John Kerry's boat?

 

[boomerang]

Wasn't that the class that was held on John Kerry's boat?

LOL!

 

[JeffreyLebowski]

Then there are the sane ones amongst us that don't think this is an issue with the left or right thing but is simply an issue with politicians in general.

Sorry to interrupt yalls shit slinging.

Your sports analogy is spot on.
Left Vs Right Blue Vs. Red. Asses vs. Elephants.
Politics and governing in this nation are no longer about what is right for the nation. It is what is right for my team. Fuck the other team. Those bastards think differently.

 

[Matt1970]

Wasn't that the class that was held on John Kerry's boat?

I think you're right

 

[Fern]

Or like the ones committed by Clumsy Clarence, they will be argued for by the blind followers and those that believe in party above everything else that they person must have made an honest mistake and just have been too stupid and incompetent to fill out a simple form, but must not be removed from their position impacting the lives of every man, woman and child in the country.

Clarence Thomas didn't have a tax problem. This misunderstanding continues to be spread. It was some kind of disclosue form, nothing at all tax related.

---------------------

As a tax professional who does personal property tax returns (as well as others) I can understand how this error easily occurred.

Firstly, I highly doubt McCaskill prepares such tax returns.

IIRC, the plane was orginally outside the county and thus wasn't taxable there. Later the plane was moved to the county.

Now the accountant preparing the form normally just looks for new assets acquired and older assets disposed of to complete the form. (Note that your personal property tax form comes pre-completed with all assets previously reported to the country, you're supposed to add the new ones and show which old ones must be stricken off.)

The accountant likely would be using the financial statements to make changes, they likely wouldn't know the plane had been moved. If I were McCaskill, I'd have the accountant check the prop tax form for the other county and make sure the plane was removed from it so they don't pay prop taxes twice. I'm thinking it's still listed as being at the old location.

When you also consider that the company owning the plane was registered in Delaware, it's gets even easier to make a mistake. They likely weren't familiar with the other state's (county) rules and wouldn't even be on the mailing list to get the info/forms.

Fern

 

[Darwin333]

And where tax evasion can be proven they are prosecuted. Maybe most just file a 1040 and call it a day, but many people have myriad investments and holdings that amounts to a shitton of paperwork and mistakes get made. She's worth somewhere between 20 and 45 million. I don't think she would risk jailtime for 70k/year. She's admitted her error, it doesn't excuse it, voters will have their say. Prosecutions for paperwork mistakes or oversights in complex returns would be idiotic and not cost effective. They pay what's owed with penalty/interest and no harm done. The cost of the criminal prosecution would be far more than that recovered so it would make no sense to pursue.

I know a whole lot of rich bastards and I know how the game is played. Sure there is more paperwork when you have investments and holdings but the "shitton of paperwork" part is due to the games they play to avoid paying taxes.

Wasn't the plane in question "owned" by a company registered in another state? Wanna place a friendly wager on why that is?

Don't take me wrong, I put 99% of the blame on our fucked up tax code. Show me a legal way that I can keep more of my money and I will damn sure do it too. OTOH, if I make a mistake due to the increased paperwork of trying to legally avoid taxes it sure seems to cost me (relatively speaking) a metric shitton more.

 

[Fern]

-snip-

Wasn't the plane in question "owned" by a company registered in another state? Wanna place a friendly wager on why that is?

Don't take me wrong, I put 99% of the blame on our fucked up tax code. Show me a legal way that I can keep more of my money and I will damn sure do it too. OTOH, if I make a mistake due to the increased paperwork of trying to legally avoid taxes it sure seems to cost me (relatively speaking) a metric shitton more.

It's been said it was incorporated in Delaware. If so, that would be 'normal'. Most large companies are incorporate in Delaware, it's a common practice. It's not an income tax thing either, it's about that state's laws concerning corporate and shareholder rights and other stuff not generally known by non-professionals.

Fern

 

[Darwin333]

Your sports analogy is spot on.
Left Vs Right Blue Vs. Red. Asses vs. Elephants.
Politics and governing in this nation are no longer about what is right for the nation. It is what is right for my team. Fuck the other team. Those bastards think differently.

Exactly, that is why I am of the opinion that we are fucked.

They actually use the excuse "but the other guys did it first", I don't let my children pull that kind of shit. When adults try it though a large portion of the population will actually defend them, at least if they have a non-important job like running the country.

 

[Darwin333]

It's been said it was incorporated in Delaware. If so, that would be 'normal'. Most large companies are incorporate in Delaware, it's a common practice. It's not an income tax thing either, it's about that state's laws concerning corporate and shareholder rights and other stuff not generally known by non-professionals.

Fern

You are correct. There are plenty of other reasons rich folk have paperwork out of the ass but the reasons are almost always making/keeping money or protecting money/assets they already have (or might have at some future date).

If this is truly a corporate jet, why is she personally liable for the taxes and not the corporation?

 

[Fern]

-snip-
If this is truly a corporate jet, why is she personally liable for the taxes and not the corporation?

If it's truely owned by the coporation she wouldn't be personally liable.

Fern

 

[werepossum]

Clarence Thomas didn't have a tax problem. This misunderstanding continues to be spread. It was some kind of disclosue form, nothing at all tax related.

---------------------

As a tax professional who does personal property tax returns (as well as others) I can understand how this error easily occurred.

Firstly, I highly doubt McCaskill prepares such tax returns.

IIRC, the plane was orginally outside the county and thus wasn't taxable there. Later the plane was moved to the county.

Now the accountant preparing the form normally just looks for new asset acquired and older assets disposed of to comlete the form. (Note that your personal property tax form comes pre-completed with all assets previously reported to the country, you're supposed to add the new ones and show which old ones must be stricken off.)

The accountant likely would be using the financial statements to make changes, they likely wouldn't know the plane had been moved. If I were McCaskill, I'd have the accountant check the prop tax form for the other county and make sure the plane was removed from it so they don't pay prop taxes twice. I'm thinking it's still listed as being at the old location.

When you also consider that the company owning the plane was registered in Delaware, it's gets even easier to make a mistake. They likely weren't familiar with the other state's (county) rules and wouldn't even be on the mailing list to get the info/forms.

Fern

Good points, but at least part of the reason for incorporating out of state is to save taxes. Purchasing the plane inside Missouri would have cost at least another hundred grand in sales tax. Delaware certainly is business friendly, but it also has no state sales tax in addition to no personal property tax. Also, it was a previous plane that was originally hangered out of state in Illinois (again, no such taxes), not just in another county. I'm sure her intent was to honestly dodge taxes, not to break the law, but that still plays into the typical politician hypocrisy of "Do as I say, not as I do." Little people commit fraud and are "seriously delinquent"; the elite take actions that are "inappropriate" and "regrettable" in retrospect. Little people pay fines and penalties, get sanctioned, go to prison; the elite are "embarrassed", "fail to live up to their own standards", and "disappoint themselves".

You are correct. There are plenty of other reasons rich folk have paperwork out of the ass but the reasons are almost always making/keeping money or protecting money/assets they already have (or might have at some future date).

If this is truly a corporate jet, why is she personally liable for the taxes and not the corporation?

Shell corporation owned by McCaskill and her husband; they ARE the corporation, as it's a limited liability corporation rather than a publicly traded company.

Frankly, the property tax dodge could easily be an oversight and probably was, but it pales next to the original POLITICO investigation. From the original ethics complaint:
http://politicmo.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/2011-03-14-Ethics-Complaint-re-McCaskill.pdf

Claire McCaskill's Violations of Senate Rule 37

Senator McCaskill's payment of U.S. taxpayer dollars to her and her husband's own company to fund her own travel aboard her own private aircraft, while apparently drawing personal profits from that company for those very plane "rentals" violates Senate Rule 37.

Senator McCaskill has spent at least $75,990 of taxpayer funds to pay for 89 flights aboard a private corporate plane of Timesaver, LLC ("TS LLC"), a company that she co-owns with her husband.

In 2007, Senator McCaskill reported Timesaver LLC as providing her with income from "rent" of between $50,001 and $100,000.

McCaskill created a shell corporation, bought a plane with it, then charged taxpayers to fund HER travels in HER plane. Thus she not only got free travel, but she also got to make a profit on it, at taxpayer expense. Frankly, it's a LOT worse than I first thought when I read the article. This is the kind of thing that, were the Senate in opposition hands, might even lead to impeachment or even criminal charges. But I doubt it's a whole lot different in principle from what a lot of Senators and Representatives are doing. When you have a LOT of money and a LOT of power, it takes real self control to not think you deserve even more money and power, that rules and laws are for other people. It's like the Tom Delay situation; McCaskill did something that probably a majority are doing, but has done it in a way that is (arguably anyway) illegal, the main difference being that McCaskill was busted by a POLITICO investigation whereas the Hammer blatantly did it openly - arrogance leading to stupidity.

McCaskill herself as quoted in the complaint:
"Nothing that irritates Americans more than the fact that some members of Congress think they are entitled to their own set of rules. And it's true - too many people in Washington live in an alternate reality. It's time for that to stop."

I'll be amazed if McCaskill can win reelection after these revelations. (Of course, I'm also amazed that a ten year old single engine plane can be worth $2.2 million, so YMMV.)

 

[Fern]

-snip-
McCaskill created a shell corporation, bought a plane with it, then charged taxpayers to fund HER travels in HER plane. Thus she not only got free travel, but she also got to make a profit on it, at taxpayer expense. Frankly, it's a LOT worse than I first thought when I read the article.

Yeah, as I said in my first post in this thread, that part's more troubling to me than the unpaid taxes.

As far as owning the plane in a corporation, she'd be an idiot not too. Too much personally liability to assume without the corporate entity.

Fern

 

[Double Trouble]

I'm inclined to believe that it was an oversight after reading Fern's explanation. The fact that she's bilking tax payers out of money playing shell games is much more damaging.

With the tax code being as fubarred as it is, I can see how such mistakes can be made without the senator intending to break any rules. Still, the hypocrisy of pushing for higher taxes for "the rich" and then going to great lengths to escape paying yours is unmistakeable.

 

[hal2kilo]

What do you expect from a DINO turncoat.

 

[lothar]

What do you expect from a DINO turncoat.

Charlie Rangel was a DINO turncoat?

 

[werepossum]

You literally cannot make up this shit. Claire McCaskill is now patting herself on the back for enabling the discovery of her own malfeasance.

"This problem came to light because of the kind of transparency that I have worked for, for 30 years in government. So, I think I'll keep doing my job and working very hard as I have always done on holding government open to the sunlight of public inspection and making sure that if that are mistakes being made by people like me that the public knows about it and that people are held accountable," Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Missouri) said to reporters on a conference call on Wednesday.

"Voters will have to decide whether this big, serious, sloppy mistake is enough for them to decide not to hire me again," she added.

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/vi...ight_because_of_my_work_for_transparency.html

I'm also beginning to wonder why at least one picture of her doesn't make her look Runaway Bride crazy. I wouldn't think her behavior that far out of the norm for D.C. to piss off ALL the press.

 

[bfdd]

Your sports analogy is spot on.
Left Vs Right Blue Vs. Red. Asses vs. Elephants.
Politics and governing in this nation are no longer about what is right for the nation. It is what is right for my team. Fuck the other team. Those bastards think differently.

I like to call it Crips vs Bloods. They are nothing but a bunch of gangsters so I feel it fits better.