Geithner made mistake on his taxes
Treasury Secretary-designate Timothy Geithner of Mamaroneck is likely to be questioned at his upcoming confirmation hearing about a former housekeeper’s immigration status and Geithner’s failure to properly file his federal tax returns while working for the International Monetary Fund, according to The Wall Street Journal.
The tax issue involved Geithner’s failure to take responsibility for paying his own payroll taxes. Following an audit, he paid the money with interest, according to the newspaper.
The newspaper said questions about taxes and the former housekeeper were raised by Sen. Charles Grassley of Iowa, ranking Republican on the Senate Finance Committee. The panel was meeting behind closed doors this afternoon to discuss the matter.
President-elect Barack Obama issued a statement this afternoon reaffirming his support for Geithner as “the right person to help lead our economic recovery during these challenging times.’’
Obama’s spokesman, Robert Gibbs, said that Geithner’s service “should not be tarnished by honets mistakes, which, upon learning of them, he quickly addressed. He made a common mistake on his taxes and was unaware that his part-time housekeeper’s work authorization expired for the last three months of her employment.’’
Update at 6:45 p.m.: The Senate Finance Committee has not yet scheduled a date for Geithner’s confirmation, according to spokeswoman Carol Guthrie. This blog previously reported the hearing would be Thursday based on an announcement made last week by Sen. Chuck Schumer.
Update at 7:10 p.m.: The committee has tentatively scheduled the hearing for Friday.
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Maybe if some of these bright-light political and executive types had to sweep their own kitchens and scrub the old toilet bowl on occasion, we and they would be a lot better off. I think I’m the only one left in the entire country who cuts his own lawn.
the head of the fed in new york …cannot possibly be naive
about whether a self employed person has an obligation to
pay the entire amount of his self employment taxes..I have
been doing so for 25 years….if I knew the rule, he had to know the rule..whats more …I am sure he has an accountant
doing his returns..that accountant had to know the rule
what he did in my judgement is becasue he was working for the government but was being paid as a 1099 employee
ie an independent contractor, he claims the lines were blurred..that is a ridiculous defense from the proposed
next head of the treasury department and therefore the
IRS…what else was he doing on his tax return ….
did he claim a home office deduction…because that is
only allowed when your employer REQUIRES YOU to keep a
separate office…was he claiming entertainment expenses
too…his entire tax return should be examined as to
whether it conforms to the rules for independent contractors
what about his car….if used only to commute ..it is not
deductable..etc and on and on
Two plus two equals five is an honest mistake. Failing to pay your taxes (and holding a position where you should know better) is not.
On the other hand, maybe we need a guy down there who realizes ALL taxes are too high, and takes direct action. : ) Unfortunately, that theory didn’t work with Charlie Rangel and others who like to raise taxes in general and disregard them personally.
The problem ed is that you cannot lower taxes when you
are spending the kind of money they are spending in washington..you will note that Obama has addressed a middle
class tax cut which at the most would give back between
500-1000 dollars to working men and woman..this is ludicrous
they didn’t spend it last time and they wont spend it this
time..it is simply not a stimulous…it will be used
to payoff existing debt or simply put in the bank as
savings…now if you want to stimulate the economy
what you need to do is to adjust the alternative minimum
tax upward so that the income earners it hits are the
ones it was supposes to target in the first place
ie people making between 75 and 100 were never supposed
to be subject to that tax but because of the failure to
peg the tax to inflation now it is hitting middle class
tax payers…so giving them 1000 is an excercise in futility
the AMT should be hitting those people with adjusted gross
incomes of 500,000 and up..right now those people DO NOT
pay the AMT…thats right…they are making TOO MUCH to
be caught by the AMT..once you adjust it to hit the higher
income people as was the original purpose you end up
giving a SUBSTANTIAL AND PERMANENT tax cut to those
making under 500,000…you know what they call that
A STIMULUS PACKAGE THAT WORKS!
This was not just a mistake!!! Like all of us TIM GEITHNER does not like to pay taxes!!! With the biggest difference – GEITHNER is OBAMA’s pick to head the TREASURY DEPARTMENT!!! SEEMS TIM DID NOT PAY HIS DELINQUENT TAXES UNTIL UNTIL HE KNEW HE WAS TO BE NOMINATED!!! Not exactly ‘sterling’ conduct eh??? PAY ONLY IF YOU ARE NOMINATED FOR A CABINET POST YOUR ‘BACK TAXES’??? Another BUMP-UP to start the OBAMA ‘TRANSPARENT+SMARTER’ADMINISTRATION!!! Ha.