Those Pesky Tax Laws
By Mary Theroux • Saturday March 28, 2009 10:27 AM PDT • 4 Comments
It turns out it’s not only Obama’s political appointments who suffer from misunderstanding that tax laws apply to everyone. While researching figures for my blog post on charitable deductions, I came across this detail: the Obamas themselves filed an erroneous tax return for 2006, taking a charitable deduction for $13,000 contributed to the Congressional Black Caucus. As The New York Times noted,
it is illegal to deduct political contributions as charitable contributions.
Yet apart from this line, at the very end of the Times story, I haven’t seen any coverage of the Obamas’ filing an illegal tax return.
If rich, smart people like Treasury Secretary Geithner, Tom Daschle, and the Obamas don’t have to comply with tax laws until they want a high-profile government job, can those of us who don’t want such jobs ignore them too?
Tags: Bailouts, Budget and Tax Policy, Criminal Justice, Elections, Law, Money and Banking, Presidential Power 
Tax-laws are for you plebs, not for your ruling class, duh. Where have you BEEN the past 10,000 years?
Marc Sheffner | Mar 29, 2009 | Reply
I’d love to see all these tax issues lead to a conversation in the media about how it’s virtually impossible for anyone not to mess up on their taxes and time to simplify it. I dream of a flat tax set up, maybe a two page form?
In New Zealand where I used to live, it’s so simple you hardly even need software or an accountant to do it. It’s possible for a non-specialist to complete their tax return themselves.
PLJ | Apr 2, 2009 | Reply
I meant to say ‘how it’s impossible for anyone NOT to mess up on their taxes!’ makes a bit more sense I hope with this change
PLJ | Apr 2, 2009 | Reply