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January 14, 2009
Obama: I Have Full Confidence in My Tax-Cheat Treasury Pick
The president-elect says he's sure Timothy Geithner will be confirmed. Given the fact that even Lapdog for Hire Lindsay Graham doesn't seem bothered by Geithner's 'taxes for thee, but not for me' history, Obama is probably right.
It's one thing to forget paying taxes. It's another to take money specifically given to pay taxes and still not pay taxes.
The IMF did not withhold state and federal income taxes or self-employment taxes — Social Security and Medicare — from its employees’ paychecks. But the IMF took great care to explain to those employees, in detail and frequently, what their tax responsibilities were. First, each employee was given the IMF Employee Tax Manual. Then, employees were given quarterly wage statements for the specific purpose of calculating taxes. Then, they were given year-end wage statements. And then, each IMF employee was required to file what was known as an Annual Tax Allowance Request. Geithner received all those documents.Remember, the Treasury Secretary is in charge of the IRS. Obama has nominated, and thanks to mindless fools like Graham, the Senate looks as though it will confirm, an alleged tax cheat to head the tax-gathering bureau of the US government.The tax allowance has turned out to be a key part of the Geithner situation. This is how it worked. IMF employees were expected to pay their taxes out of their own money. But the IMF then gave them an extra allowance, known as a “gross-up,” to cover those tax payments. This was done in the Annual Tax Allowance Request, in which the employee filled out some basic information — marital status, dependent children, etc. — and the IMF then estimated the amount of taxes the employee would owe and gave the employee a corresponding allowance.
At the end of the tax allowance form were the words, “I hereby certify that all the information contained herein is true to the best of my knowledge and belief and that I will pay the taxes for which I have received tax allowance payments from the Fund.” Geithner signed the form. He accepted the allowance payment. He didn’t pay the tax. For several years in a row.
And the media's response? It's just a 'speed bump.'
Posted by slublog at January 14, 2009 08:27 PM
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Comments
Another one of those things that's okay -- just not for you or me. We would be committing tax fraud and would end up owing a ton of money and fines and penalties and probably be subject to audit every year for the rest of our lives.
Posted by: Kath at January 15, 2009 06:32 PM
Ahh...Good old Chicago politics brought to the national stage....
Posted by: downfleeced at January 16, 2009 08:20 AM