View Full Version : Another Obama Nominee with Tax Problems
What the heck???? What happened to running an ethical administration? If you or I did any of the things these fools have been found to have been doing we would be in jail.
At least this one had the decency to pull her name. When is Obama going to do the right thing and pull Daschle? Like he is the ONLY one that could be HHS Secretary in a country of 300 Million people.
Obama nominee quits due to tax woes
Picked for chief performance officer, she faced allegation over nanny tax
BREAKING NEWS
The Associated Press
updated 9:51 a.m. CT, Tues., Feb. 3, 2009
WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama's nominee to be the first chief performance officer for the federal government has withdrawn, the White House said Tuesday.
"Nancy Killefer has decided to withdraw her nomination, and we accepted her withdrawal," said Tommy Vietor, a White House spokesman.
The 55-year-old executive with consulting giant McKinsey & Co. was expected to explain her reasons for pulling out later in the day.
Killefer was the second major Obama administration nominee to withdraw and the third to have tax problems complicate their nomination after President Barack Obama announced their selection.
When her nomination was announced by Obama on Jan. 7, The Associated Press disclosed that in 2005 the District of Columbia government had placed a lien on her home in the upscale Wesley Heights neighborhood. The local government alleged that she had started missing payments on unemployment compensation tax for a household employee. And she failed to make the required quarterly payments for a year and half, whereupon a lien for $946.69 was placed on her home.
Administration officials have refused to answer questions about the lien, which she resolved five months after it was filed.
During that period, Killefer and her husband, an economics professor, had a teenage son and daughter, but she had two nannies and a personal assistant to run her life when she was on the road, she told Harvard business students back then.
Impressive credentials
On paper, Killefer brought impressive credentials to the two jobs Obama selected her for: deputy director for management at the Office of Management and Budget, which requires Senate confirmation, and a new White House post, chief performance officer for the entire federal government, which does not require confirmation.
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.
Other nominee problems
The Obama administration has had several nomination problems.
Timothy Geithner was sworn in as Treasury secretary in January, after winning confirmation despite personal tax lapses that turned more than a third of the Senate against him.
Former Senate Democratic Leader Tom Daschle, Obama's nominee to oversea the Health and Human Services Department, is still being considered by the Senate, despite problems with back taxes and potential conflicts of interest.
New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, Obama's initial selection for commerce secretary, withdrew his name amid a grand jury investigation into a state contract awarded to his political donors.
© 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28994296/
your looking at this all wrong, this is actually how Democrats show their support for tax cuts. :D
Surf n Turf
02-03-2009, 12:46
This might explain why they are having such a problem is filling positions :D
SnT
“ 12 July 1989, New York Times, pg. B2:
Maid Testifies
Helmsley Denied
Paying Taxes
Says She Told Her "Only
the Little People Pay"
By The Associated Press
Leona Helmsley once told a housekeeper at her Connecticut home that "only the little people pay taxes," the housekeeper testified yesterday at Mrs. Helmsley's tax-fraud and extortion trial.
The witness, Elizabeth Baum, said the conversation took place at the Helmsleys' home in Greenwich four to six weeks after she was hired in September 1983.
Ms. Baum said she and Mrs. Helmsley were in a back hall of the $11 million home. "I said, 'You must pay a lot of taxes,'" Ms. Baum said. "She said, 'We don't pay taxes. Only the little people pay taxes.'"
Mrs. Helmsley, 69 years old, is accused of evading taxes by disguising $4 million in renovations at the Connecticut home as business expenses
http://www.barrypopik.com/index.php/new_york_city/entry/only_the_little_people_pay_taxes_attributed_to_leo na_helmsley/
Ret10Echo
02-03-2009, 13:12
Seems there is a large portion of our Federal deficit that could be recouped if our elected and appointed officials would just pay their taxes....:eek:
Ret10Echo
02-05-2009, 05:09
Out of (Tax) Order
February 5, 2009 - 12:32am
It's one thing for Al Capone and Willie Nelson to not pay their taxes. It's another thing for the people who decide how much we pay in taxes and the people who spend our taxes not to pay. Yes, government employees - particularly elected officials - and those charged with the care and custody of our tax dollars should be held to a higher standard than Joe the Plumber. Then again, maybe we should take a look at Joe's returns as well. But you get the point.
The sad fact is that it's nothing new for our elected officials to say one thing and then do another, especially when it comes to taxes. Here is a brief list of some of the more than notable politicians who have been caught by the tax man:
HIGHEST RANKING:
Vice President Spiro T. Agnew
On October 1, 1973, Agnew pleaded "no contest" in federal court to one misdemeanor charge of income tax evasion. He was fined $10,000 and put on probation for three years. He was also forced to resign from the office of Vice President. Agnew's friend Frank Sinatra loaned him $160,000 to pay legal expenses, back taxes, and other fees. Agnew was disbarred by the state of Maryland in 1974.
LONGEST SENTENCE:
Randall "Duke" Cunningham
Sentenced to eight years and four months in federal prison for taking $2.4 million in bribes. The 64-year-old Cunningham, a former U.S. representative from California, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bribery, mail fraud, wire fraud and tax evasion. He also pleaded guilty to a separate tax evasion violation for failing to disclose income in 2004.
MOST IRONIC:
Joseph Nunan
Joseph Nunan may have been the dumbest tax scofflaw to be caught. Nunan was a former commissioner of the IRS. In 1952, he was busted for tax evasion. Nunan won an $1,800 bet that Harry Truman would win the election, but forgot to claim his winnings on his taxes.
SHOULD HAVE KNOWN BETTER
Charles Rangel
The Democratic Congressman from New York who chairs the House Ways and Means Committee - the very committee charged with writing our tax laws - called himself "irresponsible" after acknowledging that he did not pay taxes on rental income he received from a Caribbean resort property he owns. Rangel's attorney estimated the congressman owes more than $10,000 for 2004 - 2006.
LOCAL HERO:
ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON
During her 1990 campaign, the non-voting delegate for the District of Columbia admitted that she and her husband had paid no D.C. income taxes between 1982 and 1989. Norton blamed this tax evasion on her husband, although she is a Yale-educated lawyer required to sign joint tax returns.
LOW HANGING FRUIT:
Marion Barry
The Former "Mayor for Life," D.C. Councilmember Mayor Marion Barry pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor tax charges, admitting in federal court that he failed to pay most of his income taxes for five years after departing from the District government in 1999.
OTHER NOATABLES:
Gary Miller
The Republican Congressman from Georgia is under investigation by the IRS for allegedly claiming exemptions on capital gains from the sale of real estate that was not due to involuntary conversion through eminent domain proceedings. The IRS is investigating to determine whether Rep. Miller's 2002 and 2005 real estate transactions qualified for non-recognition of capital gains.
James Traficant Jr.
The former nine-term Democratic Congressman from Ohio is serving eight years in a federal prison after being convicted of tax evasion, racketeering and bribery.
NOT JUST INSIDE THE BELTWAY:
New York State Legislature
According to the Times-Union of New York, Twenty members of the current state legislature have been hit with state tax warrants, similar to liens, for more than $52,000 in unpaid taxes, interest and penalties, according to state records covering the past two decades obtained under the Freedom of Information law. Additionally, former lawmakers have owed more than $62,000.
And as a parting note...I thought this was humorous...
Jay Leno: "You realize Obama would have less tax problems if he had nominated Willie Nelson and Wesley Snipes. They...actually have better records than most of these people."
At least she can blame it on her husband. I quess that makes her OK.
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/44/2009/02/05/solis_senate_session_canceled.html
I have begun a list of the word spin being used by the press, especially the leftist press, on the failure to pay income taxes by Obama nominees. Some of the latest additions:
personal tax lapses
income tax oversight
income tax problems
all that seek to cover up the truth, that these people then well knew or should have known they had a tax liability and did not pay it.
Timothy Geithner was audited by the IRS in 2006 with respect to his 2003-2004 income taxes. The IRS found a shortage, explained where it came from (unreported IMF salary where he had worked from 2001 - 2004) assessed the deficiency with penalties and interest, which he paid. All good, right? Wrong
Since he also worked for the IMF in 2001 - 2002, he had exactly the same shortage in those years also. But neither the IRS nor Mr. Geither made any effort to file a 1040X (Amended return) for tax years 2001 - 2002, despite the fact that they were still within the statue of limitations at that time. It was only after he was nominated for the cabinet position that he decided to go back, 'fess up and pay the shortages. Had he not been nominated, he would have been scott free in another year or so when the statute of limitations ran out.
Ah, the Obamanation has begun.
And it's going to get worse ... before it gets worse.
Ret10Echo
02-05-2009, 20:22
Some of the latest additions:
personal tax lapses
income tax oversight
income tax problems
Anyone know what happens to an IRS employee (not appointee) that experiences any of the above listed or variations thereof????
:munchin
It appears there are 10 deadly sins for IRS employees.
LINK (http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0402/041102t1.htm)
Any violation listed under Section 1203(b) of the 1998 IRS Restructuring and Reform Act, dubbed the "10 Deadly Sins" by IRS employees, means immediate termination with appeal only to the IRS commissioner. The 10 offenses are: threatening to audit someone for personal gain; conducting a seizure without approval; assaulting, harassing or violating the civil rights of a taxpayer or a coworker; lying under oath; falsifying or destroying records; concealing information from Congress; underreporting income; and failing to file a tax return on time.
Although there was an attempt to repeal the provisions of the act that established the penalties, it seems the effort failed. So, although the article is from 2002, it seems the penalties are still in effect.
bandycpa
02-05-2009, 21:21
You know, I may have just found a niche for my tax practice. It seems that educating our Federal representatives / nominees and helping them stay in compliance with the tax laws could be a full time job.
Bandy
This just keeps getting better and better.
Obama labor secretary-nominee faces tax questions
Fri Feb 6, 2009 3:03pm GMT
By David Alexander
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama's pick for Labor secretary faced questions over her husband's unpaid business taxes on Thursday, the latest in a string of embarrassing tax revelations that have hampered Obama's efforts to seat a cabinet.
A Senate panel delayed its vote on Labor Secretary-designate Hilda Solis after the newspaper USA Today reported that her husband paid about $6,400 on Wednesday to settle tax liens that had been outstanding against his business for as long as 16 years.
The Senate Labor Committee's Democratic chairman and its top Republican made no mention of the USA Today report but said the vote was indefinitely delayed to "allow members additional time to review documentation submitted in support" of Solis, a Democratic member of the House of Representatives from California.
Solis was the fourth member of the new administration to run into trouble over unpaid taxes. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner was confirmed by the Senate after paying $34,000 in late self-employment taxes.
Health Secretary-designate Tom Daschle withdrew from consideration this week after paying $140,000 in back taxes and penalties, and Nancy Killefer, Obama's choice to oversee budget and spending reform, also withdrew over tax issues.
EMBARRASSING DELAYS
The withdrawal of Daschle, a key Obama campaign adviser and former Senate Democratic leader, was particularly difficult and threatened to delay the president's efforts to reform the costly U.S. healthcare system, one of his campaign pledges.
Obama said "I think I screwed up" over the Daschle nomination by sending a signal that powerful people could fail to pay taxes without serious consequences while ordinary people could not.
The White House indicated Solis was in a different category, with spokesman Robert Gibbs saying she was not involved in her husband's business and should not be punished for the tax lapse.
"We reviewed her tax returns and her tax returns are in order," Gibbs said. "She's not a partner in that business, so we're not going to penalize her for her husband's business mistakes."
Asked if Solis' husband paid the taxes at the prompting of the White House, Gibbs said: "I think he paid the liens back because he owed the taxes. ... The White House believes that if you owe taxes, you should pay them. But at the same time, this obviously is a business that she's not a partner in and we're not going to hold her responsible for."
In their joint statement, Labor Committee Chairman Ted Kennedy, a Massachusetts Democrat, and the panel's top Republican, Michael Enzi of Wyoming, indicated Solis might survive the vote.
"Members on both sides of the aisle remain committed to giving her nomination the fair and thorough consideration that she deserves," they wrote. "We will continue to work together to move this nomination forward as soon as possible."
John Sweeney, president of the AFL-CIO trade union federation, urged the panel to reschedule her confirmation vote quickly, saying: "It is crucial that the American people have a strong and dynamic Department of Labor. We have confidence that Congresswoman Hilda Solis is the right person to lead that charge."
(Editing by Eric Walsh)
Maybe we've all been reading this issue wrong...
Jay Leno: “I think Barack Obama is a genius. I think this is part of the plan. Do you ever notice when Barack Obama nominates someone, the first thing they do is pay their taxes? He’s found a way to pay off the deficit. Nominate every single person in the country one at a time, until they pay” off the deficit.
Jay Leno: “As you know, Tom Daschle withdrew his name to be in Obama’s cabinet, due to IRS problems. Yeah, he said, ‘I will not be a distraction.’ See, distraction is Washington talk for, ‘Uh-oh, t here ’s a lot more crap you don’t know about yet.’”
Jay Leno: “Wasn’t it just a couple months ago, these people were making fun of Joe the plumber for not paying his taxes?”
Jay Leno: “Daschle says that his problems with the IRS were unintentional. Well, of course they were unintentional. He never intended to get caught.”
Jay Leno: “I guess” the Democrats “think IRS means, ‘I’m really sorry.’”
Jay Leno: “The White House issued a statement today saying that the reason their nominees are having such trouble is that the new White House has set the bar very high. See, that shows you what’s wrong with politics in this country. That’s what the government considers setting the bar high, having to pay taxes like everybody
David Letterman: “I was stunned” by the Daschle story because “we don’t
expect Democrats to cheat on their taxes. No, we expect Democrats to cheat
on their wives. That’s how this is supposed to go!”
Conan O’Brien: “President Obama has asked the Senate to cut $50 billion
from the economic stimulus plan. Yeah. Obama says the government will no
longer need the $50 billion once everyone in his cabinet pays their back taxes.
Richard's $.02 :munchin
Yet another cabinet nominee is found to owe back taxes. So this has me shacking my head. Is Obama's vetting team so ineffective that they have allowed so many of these guys to pass through the vetting process, only to find out later there is a problem. Or is is a bigger systemic issue: If you are a politician you don't have to pay your taxes, and when that fact is finally found out, you are excused, because mistakes will be made.
I have to wonder what kind of precident this is setting? Are normal citizens now going to have an "out" when they owe back taxes? If it is good enough for the politicians it should be good enough for the rest of us, right?
I think we should start a "drive" to force all members of Congress and the Senate to reveal their taxes for the past 10 years. Hell, we should do it locally and force our Mayors to do the same.
Cabinet-pick Kirk owes $10,000 in back taxes
12:00 AM CST on Tuesday, March 3, 2009
By TODD J. GILLMAN / The Dallas Morning News
tgillman@dallasnews.com / The Dallas Morning News
s Pamela Yip in Dallas and Dave Michaels in Washington contributed to this report.
WASHINGTON – Ron Kirk's excess deductions for basketball tickets and failure to report speaking fees as income have cost him $10,000 in back taxes, a Senate committee disclosed Monday, in the latest IRS-related embarrassment for an Obama Cabinet pick.
The problems are the first indication of potential trouble for Kirk's nomination to be U.S. trade representative, though White House officials and key senators called the errors minor and predicted the former Dallas mayor will be confirmed by the Senate.
"When you put anybody's tax filings under a microscope, people don't have to be dishonest," said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev. "It's just hard to do all the right things. It certainly shouldn't disqualify him."
Aides to the Senate Finance Committee uncovered Kirk's tax shortfall during weeks of vetting. Kirk, a lawyer and the Texas Democratic Party's 2002 Senate nominee, will file amended tax returns for the last three years and pay the Internal Revenue Service $9,975 plus interest.
That pales beside the lapses of some Obama Cabinet picks, though independent tax experts agreed that Kirk had made some "careless" errors.
Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner paid $43,000 in back taxes before his confirmation. Tom Daschle, the former Senate majority leader who withdrew his bid to lead the Health and Human Services Department, paid $128,203 in back taxes, plus interest, for failing to report as income the car and driver a friend had provided to him.
Labor Secretary Hilda Solis' confirmation was delayed for weeks amid questions about her husband's unpaid taxes. Outside the Cabinet, an Obama pick for a top White House job withdrew over questions about her tax compliance.
The series of problems prompted the White House to review its vetting process and slow the pace of nominations. It was hard to gauge Monday how badly Kirk might suffer from the snafus' cumulative effect.
"We are confident that Mayor Kirk will be confirmed," said White House spokesman Ben LaBolt.
'Disappointed'
Texas Sen. John Cornyn, a member of the GOP leadership and the finance committee who defeated Kirk in the 2002 race, had been supportive of the nomination. But Monday night, an aide called the tax problems "a very serious offense."
"He's very disappointed," Cornyn spokesman Kevin McLaughlin said. "He's hopeful Mr. Kirk will take the opportunity to provide an explanation when he comes before the finance committee."
The top Republican on the panel, Sen. Charles Grassley of Iowa, "will reserve judgment on the nomination until the vetting process, including the hearing and any follow-up questions resulting from the hearing, is completed," said spokeswoman Jill Gerber.
Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., postponed the confirmation hearing for four days, until next Monday, citing a conflict with the White House health care summit. He was standing by Kirk, however.
"Mayor Kirk is the right person for this job," Baucus said. "I am confident he can successfully restore the confidence of Congress and the American people in a balanced international trade agenda."
Kirk supports free trade, and Republicans have generally welcomed the pick.
He earned more than $1 million last year as a law partner at Houston-based Vinson & Elkins and from corporate board positions, according to his financial disclosure form.
He was a key Obama supporter in Texas and was unveiled in December as Obama's point person on foreign trade. Kirk's nomination has been pending longer than any other for the Cabinet. Baucus blamed his committee's focus on the economic stimulus and nominations for Treasury and health and human services posts.
Kirk didn't respond to interview requests Monday.
His tax bill includes three main discrepancies:
• He owes $5,800 because of $37,750 in honorariums from 16 speeches dating to 2004. He assigned the fees to be paid directly to a scholarship fund at his alma mater, Austin College in Sherman. The Finance Committee said he should have reported the income and claimed a corresponding charitable deduction.
Independent tax attorneys agreed but called it an honest mistake.
"This is not something he should be hauled over the coals for," said Bill Roberts, a Dallas tax lawyer. "It doesn't show any intent to evade tax. ... Anybody could have made that mistake."
• Kirk owes $2,600 stemming from deductions for season tickets to the NBA Dallas Mavericks: $6,208, $7,035 and $4,139 in 2005, 2006 and 2007, respectively.
A memo issued by Democratic and GOP Finance Committee staffs said, however, that "he has substantiated $9,900 of the total $17,382 as qualifying entertainment expenses."
Written records rule
The IRS requires written records indicating the time and place, business purpose, and name and business relationship of the person being entertained.
A White House official called it a "matter of record-keeping," arguing that just because Kirk couldn't come up with documentation for every game since 2005 doesn't mean he hadn't taken clients.
But Norm Lofgren, a partner at Looper Reed & McGraw law firm in Dallas and a former IRS trial attorney, said that being able to substantiate only 57 percent of claimed expenses "suggests carelessness in his business record-keeping. The question is why. Mayor Kirk is an experienced lawyer who undoubtedly knows the specific substantiation rules for entertainment."
• An additional $1,000 in back taxes involved deductions for $25,218 in tax and accounting fees over three years. Kirk attributed 90 percent to his law practice, but that was too high.
Last October, Kirk also paid the IRS $2,188 plus $139 interest for tax year 2006, after the IRS notified him that he had failed to report a $5,000 speaking honorarium and $819 in dividend income.
Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, said through an aide late Monday that "I have confidence in Ron Kirk [and] I believe he should be confirmed."
Staff writers Pamela Yip in Dallas and Dave Michaels in Washington contributed to this report.
Its shameful that the taxpaying American citizen is supposed to tighten his belt, check the air in his tires and wear an extra sweater when it gets cold instead of turning my heat up... and the fat cats in Washington are wasting my taxes and STILL have the brass balls to use excess deductions for basketball tickets as a means to steal MORE of my tax money from the coffer.
...and yet the white House spokesman has the nerve to say
"We are confident that Mayor Kirk will be confirmed,"
This trouble all started when President Bush ordered Hurricane Katrina into New Orleans
Ambush Master
03-04-2009, 22:37
The questions that are "Begging to be asked":
Who is "outing" these people to the extent that it actually makes the "News"?!?!?!
Then:
"Where were they during this past Election Process and subsequently, on the subject of this so-called "stimulus bill"?!?!?!?!?!?!
This is unbelieveabel!!!
Ret10Echo
03-05-2009, 06:01
The questions that are "Begging to be asked":
Who is "outing" these people to the extent that it actually makes the "News"?!?!?!
Then:
"Where were they during this past Election Process and subsequently, on the subject of this so-called "stimulus bill"?!?!?!?!?!?!
This is unbelieveabel!!!
I have to go back and look at which of these were "Former Klinton Administration...blah blah...." Apparently they never went through a confirmation or background check before.
...an' Billy....Mr Bush didn't order Katrina, EVERYBODY knows that it was VP Cheney who did that so his friends at Haliburton could make some bucks...the VP always gets the climate-control-remote. Ask Al Gore. ;)