Seriously. I got nothing.
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Come for the politics, stay for the snark.
Let’s not be the monsters we hate.
Stamping your little feets and demanding that they see how important you are? Not working anymore.
The current Supreme Court is a dangerous, rogue court.
The next time the wall street journal editorial board speaks the truth will be the first.
The arc of the moral universe doesn’t bend itself. it’s up to us.
The revolution will be supervised.
I’d hate to be the candidate who lost to this guy.
“Jesus paying for the sins of everyone is an insult to those who paid for their own sins.”
In my day, never was longer.
We are aware of all internet traditions.
We still have time to mess this up!
Hot air and ill-informed banter
Not all heroes wear capes.
Peak wingnut was a lie.
Let us savor the impending downfall of lawless scoundrels who richly deserve the trouble barreling their way.
Conservatism: there are people the law protects but does not bind and others who the law binds but does not protect.
Pelosi: “He either is stupid, or he thinks the rest of us are.” Why not both?
People identifying as christian while ignoring christ and his teachings is a strange thing indeed.
You don’t get rid of your umbrella while it’s still raining.
Too often we hand the biggest microphones to the cynics and the critics who delight in declaring failure.
Somebody needs to explain to DeSantis that nobody needs to do anything to make him look bad.
SCOTUS: It’s not “bribery” unless it comes from the Bribery region of France. Otherwise, it’s merely “sparkling malfeasance”.
Red lights blinking on democracy’s dashboard
Jack Smith: “Why did you start campaigning in the middle of my investigation?!”
You are here: Home / Does Anyone Pay Taxes Anymore?
Michael D.
You know, I’m starting to believe that every one of them – Democrat and Republican – thinks they’re better than us and don’t have the same responsibilities.
But, I suppose when you go to work and have perks like super cheap haircuts, your own parking lot at Reagan, etc., etc., etc. you probably couldn’t HELP but think maybe you are a little better than every one else.
Fuck ’em all.
br
John,
Can’t we boycott linking to Jake Tapper? The exact same story is on the NYTimes and doesn’t up the number of hits for that ABC douche.
But yeah, what the hell people in charge? If you are earning 84K in extra money for consulting, hire a damned accountant!
Zuzu's Petals
Stating the obvious: I think he’ll be history. No way they’ll ask for a pass twice.
JL
This is from the same site that John linked to
What’s with the smiley cookies for a super bowl party?
dbrown
John, you have nothing because unlike the smart demo-rats or repug-a-thugs you, like most of us, are too stupid and pay our taxes. Go figure.
John Cole
@JL: Eat and Park is a regional institution that has a long history of support of the local sports teams, and their logo is a smiley face cookie.
Notorious P.A.T.
For months–if not years–we’ve been told that we just can’t prosecute government officials because it will make partisanship illegal, and if one of them breaks the law it’s ok because they are just trying to help our country, and so on and so forth.
And now we’re supposed to be shocked that one of them doesn’t think he has to declare all his income, huh?
Notorious P.A.T.
Wow, that’s a much better tradition than the Detroit Lions fan’s "Paper Bag Over the Head". I’m jealous.
Joshua Norton
Oooops. I didn’t report the $400 from one of my CD’s last year. I’m starting to worry.
Meh, let them come find me. I’m in the gray zone where I’m not rich enough to qualify for the rich guy tax breaks, but make too much to qualify for the Obama tax breaks. And will probably get dinged for ATM to boot. I wonder if I could get away with claiming $100,000 in charitable donations.
Screwed again.
J Royce
You know, I’m starting to believe that every one of them – Democrat and Republican – thinks they’re better than us and don’t have the same responsibilities.
I think we know where the blame lies: Ralph Nader. If he’d just kept his mouth shut no one would have caught on.
Joshua James
I pay taxes, and I know a lot of poor to middle-class people who do also, but it seems that once you hit the John McCain version of middle class (four to five million a year) you get an automatic bye and need not worry about taxes, especially if you work in politics or MSM … sorta like crime, you can get convicted and sent to prison for drugs, prostitution or torture … unless you happen to be a Republican operative, then you get a free pass on breaking the law, because actually prosecuting Republicans for breaking the law is somehow bad for our future and a waste of time and energy, but that black kid on the corner with three Js in his pocket? Throw his ass in jail for a long time, he’s a threat to our way of life.
I’m ranting, obviously. Sorry, but I’m supremely pissed that every day I hear on TV that prosecuting REpublicans for breaking the law is a waste of time and it really chaps my ass.
JenJen
As per usual when it comes to these kinds of things, I enjoy Digby’s take.
Bondo
It is a bunch of crap to get up in arms about this. In theory each and every one of us is supposed to pay taxes on things like selling stuff on eBay, but most of us don’t. I mean, I would have had no idea that you had to pay taxes when someone gives you a ride. Yeah, technically a law (or a tax) being stupid does not justify breaking that law, but it also doesn’t make a lot of sense to prevent anyone who made minor violations from public service.
Fencedude
I will let it be known that I own $5.18 in taxes this year and fully intend to pay them.
So my theoretical nomination should go through swimmingly!
R-Jud
Fuckers. I am finishing up tax returns for both the IRS and HMRC at the moment. If I were to decide not to file I have no doubt that the latter institution would swoop down on me with a quickness to get their paltry 3% out of me rather than nominate me for a cabinet-level post.
I agree with Zuzu’s Petals: No way can Team O argue that Daschle is the only candidate worthy of H&HS, let alone ask for a pass twice.
Brick Oven Bill
Daschle consumed $93,069 in car services in 2007. That is $255 per day. This must be a very nice car. When I had a car payment, it was less than $255 for the WHOLE MONTH. And I got to keep the car.
Barack’s friend Duvall Patrick got himself in trouble with cars too. I think that Barack lifted the campaign slogan ‘change’ from Duvall. Anyway, Romney’s car was a Crown Vic with quite a few miles on it. Duvall got rid of the Crown Vic and replaced it with a shiny new Cadillac, a fancy one. The press did not roll over on this one and went after him.
Duvall’s excuse was that there was a problem with the Crown Vic’s air conditioning. This didn’t go over well either. So Duvall claimed some sort of family mental health problem and asked for some alone time from the press.
You can get away with this as Governor. It is tougher to get away with this as President.
Church Lady
@br – it was an extra $84 K a month, not a year. InterMedia was paying him $1 million a year in consulting fees, plus providing him a car and driver. It also doesn’t include the $2 million he was making from some law firm that is really just a lobbying shop. Also doesn’t include his rather hefty speech income from organizations that would fall under his purview at HHS. This is starting to look like a nomination that needs to be pulled. I’m sure Daschle’s not the only person in the country that’s qualified to head HHS.
dog's eye view
slight hijacking of this thread for a post on behalf of a Cardinals fan (and yes, know this is Steelers territory, right down to Ginny and Guezy and all Cole-affiliated pets who are mammals or can sport attire).
The Cardinals fan is "eprof" of our blog, and he wrote a "Dear President Obama" letter outlining why the Cards might be the team of change.
Putting it up for your entertainment and in the hope that some Juice fans visit our backchannel blog from time to time. We are a small blog, and it echoes in there sometimes! Lurk over here frequently and always get a good laugh or insight out of it.
following is eprof’s letter (FYI: he lives outside Phoenix).
our blog is http://www.clistersbackchannel.wordpress.com
========
Dear President Obama:
This morning’s editorial cartoon in the Arizona Republic showed the new president’s desk in the West Wing of the White House inundated with suggestions for things to do during your administration. I would like to add to the pile by suggesting we make a bet on the upcoming Super Bowl (more political stuff to follow).
It’s in the public record that you favor the Pittsburgh Steelers over the Arizona Cardinals. Well, sir, as a resident of Arizona, I say you’ve picked the wrong team in this game on Sunday.
I know why you picked the Steelers, by the way, and it has nothing to do with the players, coaches, and game plans. You won Pennsylvania and lost in Arizona to home state favorite John McCain. So, you want to win once more over the old man of politics.
However, I thought maybe you might want to change your mind.
After all, the Steelers are a huge part of the old ways of playing football while the Cardinals are the new way and in the past two years have embraced change, a clarion call of yours during the presidential election.
The Cardinals started their change with a new coach just last season who isn’t afraid to think outside the box. He brought in new players for the heart of the offense, the offensive linemen. He brought in new rookies for the defense who bought into his defensive schemes. Together, the two units made change happen in Arizona.
So, while football is only a boys’ game that men get paid to play, there can be some lessons learned for politics through sports. One is, change is not only possible but a good thing. Two, new people can really make a difference in the outcome. Three, being willing to try new thinking, good results can happen. Sound familiar, Mr. President?
Best wishes to you, Mr. President, in the game of your life and the life of the United States of America. Go Cardinals!
Just Some Fuckhead
This just proves Democrats blah fucking blah. Yawn.
Everyone stiffs Uncle Sam at tax time. Only one party says it’s the patriotic thing to do.
Joshua Norton
More factual.
rec
@Bondo: I’m with Bondo here. The standards here are ridiculous. Have you ever wondered why TurboTax has five gazillion questionaires? I’m a salaried employee and I get lost in the details.
If you really think that Daschle (or Geithner for that matter) tried to cheat and save himself some money that’s one thing. But the rules are so Byzantine that if you pore down somebody’s return (especially if that someone made millions of dollars from various sources) you’re bound to find something. I just don’t buy it that Daschle tried to save $100K on the millions he made. I think the worst you can say is that he’s not great at choosing accountants.
I come from a different country where the tax code is much simpler. Most people have their employer deduct their taxes and that’s it. I never even saw a tax form until I came to this country. The idea that every single individual has to file his own taxes sounds crazy to me, and with the amount of rules and loopholes it’s all but guaranteed that mistakes are going to be made in most but the simplest of cases.
burnspbesq
"As through this life you travel,
You’ll meet some funny men.
Some rob you with a six-gun,
And some with a fountain pen."
qingl78
I’m somewhat more sympathetic. I use an accountant but I came across some people the other day and they said "Everyone knows that air-miles are classed as income". Everyone except for me however. Honestly, it never occurred to me that they were income. There wasn’t anything on my air miles saying that I had to claim this as income there was no request for a SN or anything that would have tipped me off and I guess since there was no clear (at least to me) relationship it never occurred to me that it was like income (I rarely get the benefits of them redemption wise).
I never mentioned to my accountant that I had air miles and he had no way of knowing, so my tax returns are not correct for the last 6 years.
Now I have to live in fear of getting a Senate approved appointment and the condemnation of my peers as being a scofflaw.
I don’t know if there was malice in this or what the particulars are but the older I get the more I’m likely to give the benefit of the doubt and as long as people make restitution (regardless of time) then things are square and not great moral failings.
burnspbesq
I’ll get excited about Daschle when the first hedge fund manager admits that carried interest really is compensation for services that ought to be taxed as ordinary income instead of capital gain.
burnspbesq
@qingl78:
Respectfully disagree. If your employer lets you keep frequent flyer miles that you earn while traveling for business, there is a very strong argument that that is a "de minimis fringe benefit" that is excluded from income under Code Section 132(e)(1).
Zuzu's Petals
@qingl78:
You’re in luck. It seems the IRS won’t tax your frequent flyer miles unless you convert them to cash:
IRS bulletin
Dave_No_Longer_Laughing
The most patriotic act any citizen can do is to pay taxes – and like it. Now, rules being rules, some folks are going to be better at correctly computing "their fair share." This is life; however, those in high office should be paying their taxes properly. If they don’t, it’s jailtime.
Ella in NM
IT’S THE TAX CODE, STUPID.
Really, I have no idea what I would do if I actually had enough money to make me have to dig through IRS rules and regs to find what it and isn’t taxable anymore. If Daschle hires and accountant to do this for him, and the dumb-ass doesn’t, why is Daschle a tax cheat?
I just filed my New Mexico state taxes, which I could do for free at my state site and get a 1200 dollar refund, or use TurboTax, pay 37 bucks and get a 1350 dollar refund. I dug through the entire thing, and for the life of me I can’t understand where the difference is, but which one do you think I picked?
Michael D.
@Ella in NM:
Are you serious?? ?? ??
When you sign your name to your income tax return, you are acknowledging that everything in it is honest and legal. Your argument would be better (but no less convincing) if you were talking about someone with no education, but you’re talking about a former Senate Majority Leader who, presumably, is NOT too stupid to know that he is 100% RESPONSIBLE FOR EVERYTHING HIS ACCOUNTANT SENDS TO THE IRS!!
I can almost forgive Geithner – at least HIS screw up was for something most people don’t understand, but Daschle’s "error" was clearly, in my opinion, to get out of paying taxes.
And before anyone accuses me otherwise, I am/was a person who is/was a huge fan of and respects/ed Tom Daschle. Just don’t give me bullshit like "It’s the tax code’s fault!" Even the most uneducated Americans can file a tax return.
Joshua Norton
Lordy, how you do dat? I claim 0 dependents for California and add a few hundred bucks on top of that every month and STILL always end up owing them money.
Fencedude
@Michael D.:
100% RESPONSIBLE FOR EVERYTHING HIS ACCOUNTANT SENDS TO THE IRS!!
No shit. But thats really incredibly beside the point, isn’t it?
Smudgemo
Taxes are a matter of evasion vs. avoidance.
Avoidance = smart.
Evasion = illegal.
Ella in NM
@Joshua Norton:
We are a modest (75K) single income family with four dependent kids, and four of us are full or part- time college students. :)
Crusty Dem
Maybe we need TurboTax: Politician’s edition, since clearly the regular form is insufficient for their perks. It would have to specifically ask questions like: "Does your job as a consultant paid to do nothing come with any of the following perks: A) A private jet B) A car and driver C) A personal masseuse D) A 19th century French Courtesan E) A $2000/night hotel suite F) A prepaid American Express Black card G) All of the above".
The prime treatment these guys get while in office absolutely pales next to the fuckdiculous benefits they get the instant they leave congress. Fuck the lot of the greedy bastards out to the cornfield.
AhabTRuler
Fail.
While many undereducated Americans can file a tax return, very few of them, including this highly educated American, can understand what the hell they are doing once they are off the EZ.
Ella in NM
@Michael D.:
Uh, YEAH, because when Daschle hires a tax expert, he is expecting the guy to know what he’s talking about and do his job correctly, which would include gathering all the information on income from his client he needs to file a legal tax form. Why hire someone to do the job if you know everything he’s doing for you? Just do it yourself and hire your teenage son to fill out the forms you tell him to fill out.
All kind’s of crap happens in the process of filling out these tax returns that can screw up or complicate things, and requires expert opinion and judgment. For example, Daschle got some sort of confirmation of his employment with the organization that provided the car. Unless you believe they conspired to avoid paying the taxes to help Daschle, then the organization ate the total amount for his car service with no tax benefit for THEM. Why would they do that? They were legally required to report his total compensation to the DUMB-ASS accountant who then used those numbers in filing Daschle’s taxes.
I may be wrong, but that’s just how I see things, having lived as long as I have.
bago
I’m 2 years behind in my taxes, but that’s because some lunatic blew away a bunch of my friends before I was able to do my taxes. Death and taxes. Death comes first.
kommrade reproductive vigor
Of course. There’s uh … um … What was his name? Hang on, I’ll remember in a second.
I heard Cali’s accepting IOUs this year.
Ditka
Simple solution.
All Senators, Congress, Cabinet members, and high level appointees have to go through a deep audit by the IRS. Every year. No exceptions. How many people is that, 1000 or so?
Just Some Fuckhead
@dog’s eye view: I misread that eprof was your dog so I read the letter looking for a canine’s perspective on why Obama should support the Cardinals.
Joshua Norton
Actually, their new form is quite easy now. Only 2 items.
1. Did you make any money?
2. Send it to us.
qingl78
My point was NOT about frequent flyer miles per se, but about how sometimes you DO forget, misunderstand, etc. about where and how you get income and how income is classed and usually the tax people are forgiving enough to know that sometimes people don’t know especially when it comes to "considerations" and not greenbacks (which is pretty obvious).
Comrade Mary, Would-Be Minion Of Bad Horse
OT: You can dance to it
Adrienne
Actually, there’s a small, yet important distinction: You acknowledge that everything is honest and legal as far as you know or to the best of your knowledge. If you hire an accountant, it’s obviously because your knowledge in the area of taxes is, ummm, limited. To the best of his knowledge, he probably was being honest and didn’t think that he was doing anything illegal.
Seriously, anything beyond a 1040 form is confusing as hell. I cut people slack for seemingly honest tax mistakes, especially those people with complex money situations. What this really tells me is that we need to reform the tax code….Yesterday.
TheHatOnMyCat
What percentage of returns are filed error-free?
Wait, are you looking that up? I mean, you do know the figures before you start posting totally stupid shit like the blurb I quoted here, right?
What percentage of returns filed by professional preparers is error free?
What percentage of returns is audited? What percentage is sampled in order to arrive at the figures I’m suggesting above?
How many lines are there in the tax code that Mr. Daschle or his preparer would need to reference in order to file a perfect return? How many lines of that tax code have you yourself read?
Do you have ANY FUCKING IDEA ON EARTH what you are talking about?
These are rhetorical questions, no answers are really necessary. I think most people can get the idea of what’s going on here without your flailings to help them out. But sure, if you know, go ahead and answer.
Also, do you have some case histories of the "most uneducated Americans" filing returns, and how many of those particular returns are filed error free? Maybe the hillbillies in your trailer park can help you out? That guy over there with the armpit stains in the tee shirt and one tooth …. let’s ask him about his returns. Take your time. Seriously. Don’t hurry, I know how busy you are. Honestly, I am only interested in helping you here. No, really. I am.
Comrade grumpy realist
Also remember just because something is stated as fiat by the IRS in the bulletins doesn’t mean automatically it’s true. Quite a bit of stuff gets unsettled by the tax courts.
Plus there’s a lot of tricksy little things that are very difficult to find out about on the IRS website. (Are post-doc fellowships taxable if you’re in a different country and the fellowship is not from the US. Threw my accountant a loop with that one….not helped because all the documentation was in Japanese.)
Vincent
The question here is whether Daschle knew about this problem when he sent his form in. Of course he’s legally responsible for what’s on the form and thus has to pay the penalties but that’s rather unrelated to whether he’s fit to be confirmed by the Senate. The issue is whether there was intent to defraud the IRS.
On the other hand, regardless of whether it was his fault or not, it doesn’t send a good message to have two tax cheats being confirmed within about a week of each other. As a political matter, his chances probably aren’t too good.
Laura W
@Ella in NM: O/T: I’ll have you know I just got back from our natural foods market with a bag of EVO No grain, red meat kibble for the dawg. I’ve got all four cats back on Wysong dry food (geriatric and adult formulas.) And I’m force feeding them as much organic canned meat shit as they will accept.
On topic: I paid NC $29 today. Sucks. I only had to pay $1 last year.
I heart Turbo Tax. Took me 45 min this morn to do both fed and state and e-file. IRS already accepted theirs. Who knew they work on Saturday.
And yes, of course I claimed every single penny I earned through cash art sales in 2008! The $550 refund will go to a credit card balance.
Ha! Good one, Laura!
TheHatOnMyCat
So, yet another handle from the troll world …. "Vincent."
Hey "Vincent" … want to make a bet on that confirmation?
We can go double or nothing on that $100 I owe you.
Just Some Fuckhead
(Insert mildy amusing Youtube video here)
MikeJ
It would be nice, but it will never, ever happen in the way it needs to. The confusing part of the tax code is 1) What counts as income and 2) What deductions do you get?
For question number one, it’s just a fact that it’s much easier for the rich to live on the barter system than the poor. The poor and middle class need to buy cars. The rich get cars and drivers, so in effect get "income".
For deductions, everybody would agree that we should get rid of all of them except for the ones I use. Those are for good honest true blue Americans, and every other deduction is a loop hole added by slimy special interest groups.
Phoenix Woman
Shorter dday: Bush gutted out the IRS so badly, especially the parts of it tasked with auditing rich people’s taxes, that the only time a rich person ever gets nailed for not paying taxes is when he’s a Democratic nominee under Republican scrutiny.
Laura W
@AhabTRuler: Mo’ O/T:
Five words for you:
GINGER ROOT WITH BRUSSELS SPROUTS.
Good Lord, Man. You rock! The Vidalia onions are also a must. Didn’t even use pine nuts this time…sauteed it in a lot of olive oil till sweet, caramelized brown mush.
Another batch tomorrow night for the festivities.
Nothing says "Brussels Sprouts" like the Super Bowl.
Laura W
@Just Some Fuckhead:
Here.
Stevenovitch
Wait, are you serious? I mean, a standard working income is one thing but, as someone who used to own a small business while working full time for another I can say that shit gets complicated pretty quickly once you deviate from that. Out of four years I only ever got it right once, and the stinger is often times you don’t even know you owe the government money until they come asking for it 3 years later with interest.
TheHatOnMyCat
Ah, but in Upper Lower Blogorrheaville, where nobody is ever held accountable for anything they say, that’s called being a Tax Cheat.
The IRS won’t call you that, but some fucker in here will.
Just Some Fuckhead
@Laura W: I always prepare my Brussels Sprouts Ray Lewis-style.
Libby
It’s official. My friend Sinfonian won the South Florida Daily, Post of the Year. Thanks a million to everyone who voted. It wouldn’t have happened without your help.
I love you Juicers. You so rock.
kay
The 2007 88,000 unreported looks legit, because it isn’t on the (payor) company books either, so Daschle’s tax person never got it. It had been reported as income other years, so that looks flukey.
Too, the regular tax-payroll clerk at that company was on maternity leave in 2007. I’ll give him that one.
Leaving the use of the car he didn’t report as income.
I think the Senators are going to confirm the former Senator. Daschle’s been meeting with them individually, many of them are his friends, including Harry Reid, and in those meetings, he disclosed all.
Not that I’m happy about it, but there it is.
Brick Oven Bill
Hey, guess what Linda Hall Daschle does for a living? She’s a, wait, wait, wait… a Registered Lobbyist.
As a former FAA bureaucrat, Linda focuses on transportation lobbying. She counts among her specialties American Airlines, Boeing, and Airports.
Her lobbying firm also handles health care lobbying. So to avoid even the appearance of a potential conflict of interest as the wife of the HHS Head, she is supposed to have left the firm this month.
To set up her very own brand-new lobbying firm! Think of the dinner conversations. Tax cheat.
burnspbesq
@Phoenix Woman:
Don’t give Bush all the credit, PW. The process was actually started by Congressional Republicans during the second Clinton admin, with the so-called IRS Restructuring and Reform Act of 1998.
It later turned out that a good amount of the testimony about supposed IRS abuses during Congressional consideration of that little beauty was perjury, plain and simple. But nobody ever went to jail for it.
Laura W
@Just Some Fuckhead: (um…do you want me to say: "Oh? How’s that, Fuckhead?" or is the joke implied and obviously over my head? Just let me know, kay?)
(over and above the beating a dead Ray Lewis theme, of course. Which was funny too!)
burnspbesq
If you are only going to read one book about taxes, this is the one.
Full disclosure: Graetz was my tax professor in law school.
kay
Just so you know, I’m just reading this in the Washington Post.
Taxes bore me to tears. I hire a CPA. I have no earthly idea what he does. I sign anything he hands me. I went to high school with him and my sister, who is a fancy CPA that I can’t afford, recommended him.
He works out of a converted garage. I have never actually entered that building. I won’t go in there, and you can’t make me.
burnspbesq
Funniest thing I’ve read all week: one of DeLong’s commenters called McMegan "Gregg Easterbrook without the Y chromosome."
You’re right. I need to get out more.
aimai
I was at the American Bar Foundation a long time ago–fifteen years? And they had a project going on taxes at the time and were among the first pointing out that the government has more than enough information on ordinary citizens and their ordinary income to essentially do your taxes for you. But above ordinary income for, like, work they don’t have the ability, or interest, or money, to correctly audit or even guess at the taxes the rich need to pay. And, of course, we’ve had years of low to no enforcement, the firing of IRS investigators, etc… that prevent them from auditing the wealthy upper class. I, too, like Digby’s point today. And I second whoever said that all congresspeople and lets include lobbyists, shall we, should be specially audited every year to be sure they are in full compliance. No need for special penalties, they can just be grateful to have their errors caught early before penalties are assessed.
aimai
burnspbesq
Ruh-roh.
Comments are more or less permanently turned off at Balkinization.
That means there is one uber-troll looking for a new home.
Be afraid, be very afraid.
The Silent Fiddle of Nero
Just about seven weeks ago, I hit a fair sized jackpot at a casino (nothing to write to anyone about, but enough that I’ll have to pay taxes on it).
I was so happy about winning, and then I realized I will have to file a different form, ARGH! I guess I’ll have to steer clear of jackpots that size in the future until I try filing it once and see how painful it is.
Just Some Fuckhead
@Laura W: I’m glad you asked. I murder them with salt. I’m a saltaholic, can’t help myself. I also murder the accompanying dishes with salt, then afterwards I clean up the whole mess and no one ever knows what I ate.
Burp.
Edit: Didn’t mean to leave ya hanging, had to help Mrs. Fuckhead with the vacuuming. Damn vacuum cleaner is on it’s last suck and Mrs. Fuckhead desperately wants a new one. I was going to get her a nice new one at the next gift-giving occasion but I don’t know if this one is going to make it to Valentine’s Day.
cleek
to see why Digby’s completely wrong on this, swap the party affiliations of all involved. we’d be giggling like schoolgirls if this was a trio of R’s who hadn’t paid their taxes.
we should stop making excuses and just admit it: Daschle fucked up. and it looks twice as bad now that he’s the third Dem to get caught with delinquent taxes.
i’d be perfectly happy seeing him not confirmed for it, too.
shortstop
Why isn’t this the Park ‘n’ Eat? I’m picturing people driving around the lot, sipping root beers off their window trays, taking occasional bites of their cheeseburgers, searching for an open parking space.
The Silent Fiddle of Nero
Hmmm, I guess she’s got a great sense of humor. Some women could receive a gift that sucks and blows for V-day and get totally apoplectic over it. I’d get her the vacuum just because and something more romantic for V-day, if I were you (but I’m not, and I don’t know her).
Just Some Fuckhead
@kay: We use a CPA too. When Mrs. Fuckhead became a business owner it was necessary to have a CPA do our taxes in order that an audit of our personal taxes didn’t spur an audit of the business, or so I’m told.
And it’s probably a good thing too. When Mrs. Fuckhead (who started doing her family’s taxes when she was twelve) was doing our taxes we were getting state tax refunds in the thousands of dollars which always made me nervous even though she insisted it was totally legit.
AhabTRuler
@Laura W: Glad you like that simple addition.
TheHatOnMyCat
Stabbed repeatedly until they are dead?
Laura W
@Just Some Fuckhead:
I am nothing if not helpful, Fuckhead.
The Silent Fiddle of Nero
Seems like she knows how to find deductions.
My parents were masters at that game. My parents used to talk business around the dinner table every night, and whenever we went out, we had this ritual where we (a non-church-going family) said a family prayer together, which was the name of the company that employed my father, and then it was tax deductible according to him. This was about 30 years ago, he’s been deceased for many years, and I was a minor, so I think it’s safe to tell this story now.
Laura W
@shortstop:
THANK YOU!
I had a really hard time letting go of that so I am glad that you took up the cause.
The Silent Fiddle of Nero
Because it’s Pittsburf. ;)
kay
@Just Some Fuckhead:
When Mrs. Fuckhead became a business owner it was necessary to have a CPA do our taxes in order that an audit of our personal taxes didn’t spur an audit of the business, or so I’m told.
I was told the same thing. It might be a lie promoted by the CPA lobby/cabal, ie:my sister.
I got audited by the state in 2007. The business, not me personally. It was easy. The…state person set up in my office, took the Quickbooks backups, and I had to go. She was gone when I got back, hours later. I can assume it went well. I never heard from her again.
Just Some Fuckhead
@Laura W: Oooooh, that might work.
@The Silent Fiddle of Nero: lolz
The Silent Fiddle of Nero
This is true. My parents took so many deductions they got audited every single year, at Christmas. As far as I know, they never got a penalty, but, Christmas-time was a bitch for my parents. They had a friend who was a CPA who would advise them, but not actually file for them.
I think they continued to do it that way because even though it seemed like harassment, they seemed to always stick it to the IRS with wasted time. (Oh, and this was before the availability of computers or tax software).
anonevent
My dad never paid taxes on all of that lawn mowing we did to pay for dinner every evening. Luckily for us, the statute of limitations has run out and I’ll never end up in a political office.
J. Michael Neal
It depends upon what you mean by "responsible." He is legally responsible for it, and owes back taxes, penalties, and interest on it should anyone ever figure it out.
He is not morally responsible if there was no intent to deceive, and he wouldn’t have known of the discrepancy given adequate effort.
Daschle is definitely legally responsible for the errors, and paid the back taxes, interest, and penalties. At this point, I am undecided as to whether he is morally culpable, and I need to know more as to exactly what information Daschle had when he signed his returns. If this was an honest error, and made by other parties, I don’t think it should affect his confirmation.
On other people:
Geithner – I’d need to have a better idea of what, exactly, the documents he signed as an IMF employee are. If they are straightforward, then he should have been hung out to dry. If they looked like the forms I signed for my mortgage, and are page after page of fine print, I’m more inclined to cut him some slack. I don’t know.
Rangel – Seems pretty guilty.
Franken – Given that he paid taxes on all of the income, but paid it to the wrong states, I don’t have a big problem.
The Silent Fiddle of Nero
Well, according to a link someone sent above, Daschle never claimed income he got from consulting, until it was pointed out to him. How does one decide that is non-taxable income?
Personally, I think this looks bad and I think someone else, with a clean record, should head HHS instead.
TheHatOnMyCat
@J. Michael Neal:
Intelligent reasonableness is not well tolerated here.
I don’t recommend that you continue this line of patter.
Unless you can try and convict people on the strength of the most obnoxious blog post to be found on the net, or make grotesque generalizations that turn reality into farce, I don’t see a future for you in this medium.
Here in Lower Upper Middle Blogapalooziland, we shoot off the mouth first and don’t ask questions later.
The Silent Fiddle of Nero
@TheHatOnMyCat:
Your point is well taken. If it turns out Daschle really didn’t report consulting fees, there’s something fishy there though.
kay
@The Silent Fiddle of Nero:
That’s the 88k? I gave him a pass on that, because it looks like a genuine fluke. He has reported that as income in the past, and the entity that paid him didn’t report it as an expense that year either, although they had done so in the past. I think his tax guy didn’t include it in 2007 because the payor didn’t send it. I think that was a screw-up.
I think he should withdraw anyway. He’s up to his ears in lobbyists. Enough already.
TheHatOnMyCat
No worries love. Daschle is a love-hate figure. People either love him or hate him. I can understand why some folks don’t get a warm fuzzy from him.
I have long been a Daschle fan. It’s nothing specific I can point to, it’s sort of a gut level thing.
Let me put it this way: If you could, would you swap Harry Reid for Daschle today?
Heh.
Anastasius
Even though it feels counterintuitive I would let a politician off the hook in this case and believe it was just an error and not intentional.
A politician in such a powerful position trying to cheat on a pretty laughable amount of money for his standards when he knows their might be some future vetting if he wants to climb even higher on the career ladder and that a small incident like that might lead to even higher scrutiny on other issues he might want to keep in the dark. Feels amateurish.
I just can’t imagine him calling his accountant and going:"You will not report this consulting fee and the car. I am Tom Daschle! Let those bitches from the IRS try! They’ll never get my money!" /shakesfist
On the other hand, he might have been wearing a buttplug and diapers at the same time, which would make it look pretty plausible all of a sudden.
The Silent Fiddle of Nero
I always have been too. I’m quite frankly very surprised that he has this situation.
kay
@TheHatOnMyCat:
Under his consulting arrangement with InterMedia, the report said, Mr. Daschle received $1 million a year, or $83,333 a month.
The payment to Mr. Daschle for May 2007 was omitted from the annual statement of income sent to him by InterMedia. Ms. Backus said the omission resulted from “a clerical error by InterMedia.”
That one is an error. He has other problems, though. The lobbyists.
Reverend Dennis
Daschle seems to have some cover on the tax part. What I find disqualifying is that he worked as a "special policy adviser" for the K Street-based lobbying arm of Alston & Bird. Clients included Abbot Laboratories, Health South, the National Association for Home Care and Hospice and CVS Caremark. So, back in 2005, Daschle wasn’t a lobbyist – he was a "special policy adviser." And back in the 60’s I wasn’t a loadie – I was a "freelance pharmaceutical adviser."
L. Ron Obama
I wonder how many people here pay use tax to their state on the things they buy off the Internet.
Yeah, you do owe tax on that shiny new HDTV you bought from Amazon. It’s almost impossible to enforce, though, so few know about it and even fewer pay it.
One of these days, Congress is sure to change the law so that companies without a business presence in the buyer’s state still need to charge them state tax.
JenJen
@cleek:
Personally, I think Obama needs to dump Daschle. He appears to be an actual bona-fide tax cheat to me. Geithner, on the other hand…. meh. Looks like an honest-enough mistake.
I still think Digby’s spot on, though, and she makes the very salient point that this is a class issue, not a partisan one.
The Silent Fiddle of Nero
I’m glad to hear the omission of the consulting fees was not his fault.
The word Lobbyist conjures up deep, dark, demonic visions of someone who is taking favors and looking for special treatment that hurts the citizens in some way. I think there is a problem with that. Lobbyists are known for such behavior now, but that was not always so, and lobbyists are not always bad. Some types of lobbyists are very necessary to bring attention to problems that congress might not be aware. The question is in what way did/do they conduct themselves and how were/are they paid? If they work via transparency and are serving a good purpose, I see nothing wrong with them having relations with (former or current) members of Congress.
TheHatOnMyCat
I know, he’s an insider. But, he’s our insider. I like him, too.
Washington is a place peopled by hideous creatures like Tom DeLay, Newt Gingrich, and John Boehner. I like the idea of having a few Daschles on our side.
Ella in New Mexico
@Laura W:
LOL! Good luck! : )
Ella in New Mexico
@Stevenovitch:
Dude, according to Michael D.’s standards, we’re all tax cheats now.
Just Some Fuckhead
@Laura W: My reply.
burnspbesq
@L. Ron Obama:
Good luck with that. That’s a Constitutional issue. Arises under the Commerce Clause. The most recent Supreme Court case is Quill, Inc.
Laura W
@Just Some Fuckhead: Ha!
I never realized that Richard Simmons totally stole Sayer’s schtick!
JenJen
@Laura W:
I really liked that EVO stuff for my dogs. Great reviews, super-healthy, perfect for working dogs (like my Aussie Shepherds, who work if you call chasing the shit out of a frisbee "work") and most dog-people have a really good experience with it.
But my gawd, did it make them fart. I couldn’t stand it anymore. Without going into too much detail, I’ll say that it was positively caustic! They’re loving the Merrick now, and I’m happier, too.
The fat, squat mutt is still on diet food, due to my Evil Vet.
Tattoosydney
@The Silent Fiddle of Nero: @Laura W:
I hope I didn’t offend either of you earlier today. My apologies if I did.
Laura W
@JenJen: I’m glad to hear the good things about it. I was overwhelmed with choices – and why the freak does a dog need sweet potatoes in her food anyway? But the whole point was to get her off grains and carbs (a la Purina One) so I went with this one since it’s lamb/beef/buffalo and, um…venison? She ate about half of it mixed with the 95% beef Evo canned food. She’s picky, so I was thrilled.
Fortunately, my dawg may be insane, but she is not gaseous.
(Tempting fate.)
TheHatOnMyCat
Dog farts? Nice play. I have tried for years to work those into my posts.
Laura W
@Tattoosydney: Get OUT!
Good Lord, Sweetie Darl. I don’t think it even possible for you to ever offend me.
(Don’t hear that as a challenge, however. ;-)
Just Some Fuckhead
@Laura W: It was a crazy time. We were all grooving off of each other and it was totally cool. And we all had big jewy ‘fros too. Well, everyone except me. I was in the fourth grade in a private school with a strict dress code.
And but hey.. we said "and but hey" a lot.
Laura W
@JenJen:
JenJen
@Laura W:
It’s really good food. Organic, and it has the kind of meat that may not sound so appealing to people but which dogs actually, you know, like. Important to dog lovers, it was also never caught up in the recall. I wish I could’ve kept them on it. But it was just too high-protein for them and they are prone to being gaseous, sadly (for me; they probably don’t give a shit, as it were).
Damn they loved it though… it was like crack to them. I always mixed the EVO dry with the EVO canned, too, and when I’d open that can they’d come running like a couple of carpet-crawlers.
Edit: Ha! Cattle Dog! My mutt is part Cattle Dog. Gawd he’s the cutest, fattest little frisbee-chasing mutt you’ve ever seen; Tunch would totally be jealous of his body fat ratio. I congratulate you on your fine dog choices. Sorry ’bout the kittehs!!
kay
@The Silent Fiddle of Nero:
I’m not a purist. I’ve given the political speech v lobbyist conundrum some thought. I see the tension there.
I should have been reading the tax code, probably.
Rosali
Test. I haven’t been able to post for several days.
kay
@TheHatOnMyCat:
Well, I like him well enough. I think he was effective and that’s why Republicans targeted him. They’re doing it again. They leaked the tax issue because they want it on the Sunday shows. Daschle’s been meeting with them for days.
You’ve noticed no one targets Reid.
excathedra88
Well, Daschle should know better, and have worked harder at keeping himself ultra clean if he hoped to serve in a government capacity again. On the other hand, how many of us truly report all the income that we should? Really? You reported the profits from that garage sale; the sale of that old car; the cash value of the work your carpenter/plumber/electrician friend did for you,etc.? Of course you do/did, and so did/do I ( diddly do, diddly do). IMO, this stuff matters far less than Daschle’s potential coziness with special interest groups like big pharma and the AMA when it comes to running H&HS.
Laura W
@JenJen: For christ’s sake…I just scrolled through ALL of Nov of 08 and part of Oct to find you a photo of my Leah. (and a foster kitten I somehow managed to not keep.)
Apparently, along with the misspellings and typos, pet photos archived under Site Maintenance tags (and not found in Dog or Cat blogging) are also part of BJ’s charm.
pppppfffffffftttttttttt.
(John’s post with the spam filter lecture is worth a re-read, however.)
(TatooSydney lives with Leah’s boo, Pedro, down in Australia. Maybe he’ll post his cute pic for you.)
JenJen
@Laura W:
I’m still waiting for that lucky, lucky, ZOMG!! Day when BJ decides to post the submitted photos of my dogs. :-)
Leah’s a beauty! Damn, Cattle Dogs are awesome. I highly recommend any breed with the name "Australian" in front, even though we all know they’re Yankee Dogs despite the moniker.
Laura W
@JenJen: I was just re-reading the comments in that thread as one other Cattle Dog owner chimed in as to their insanity. I never ever planned on this breed, but you know how that shit goes out the window when there is a rescue staring you in the face.
Sigh. We’ve made it work for over 10 years now, so I guess she’s stayin’.
(Have we sufficiently trashed the original theme of this thread yet or should I post a Rod Stewart video for Fuckhead?)
JenJen
@Laura W:
Meh. ‘Cept for those bastards who pick on poor, poor Tunch, we are an animal-lovin’ crew here at BJ.
Aussie Shepherds and Cattle Dogs alike are fruitbat insane. I never planned on having one in my life, but like you said, a rescue stares you in the eyes and you just melt like buttah. It’s no wonder there are so many Aussies in rescue; normal people can’t handle them.
And so, here we are. John Cole must be so proud.
DougJ
@THOMC
I agree. The things are complicated. I fuck them up about one out of three years.
kommrade reproductive vigor
Agreed. Especially since they’re going to need to shake down every provider that owes the agency money if it wants Medicare/aid to stay afloat.
Laura W
@JenJen: Well, see, I got so engrossed in this thread that I spaced out the last 15 min of the Top Chef rerun from last week. Damn. Jeff went home.
You’re an F&B person (as I have been many a time in my past.) Let’s start the Top Chef Finale Open Thread campaign soon.
"It’s no wonder there are so many Aussies in rescue; normal people can’t handle them." The same can be said for the Jack Russells, I’ve learned in the last few months.
JenJen
@Laura W:
Girl, I will go sautee-pan to sautee-pan with you on any Top Chef comment thread you wish to embark upon. Bring It!!
So true about little Jack Russells, too. Cute in "Frazier," not so cute in your own home. Funny how that works, eh?
Andrew
What’s way worse than his not paying taxes are Daschle’s stupid red glasses that he stole from Sally Jesse Raphael.
Shygetz
I would love it if an aspiring young Democrat would take these issues and use them to spur a real push for tax code reform. I’m convinced that it will happen someday, and I’d rather it happen under a Democratic Congress and administration than a Republican one.
Laura W
@JenJen: Well, right after the super bowl concludes, we should just start flooding John’s email with WE CAN HAZ TOP CHEF OPEN THREAD PLEEZE?! spam, like the BSG freaks did. That gives us 3 solid weeks to drive him over that thin ledge of sanity he teeters upon so precariously.
Top Chef Strike Force!
Church Lady
@JenJen – My lab had the same problem, mostly due to wolfing down his food so fast. We solved the problem by buying a food bowl with three raised cones in it, which makes him really work for the food and slows him down. Fart problem solved. If you don’t want to spring for a bowl like this, just stick a can in the middle of the food bowl – that pretty much does the same thing.
Carrie
A la lanterne les aristos
I was going to suggest a kong to slow the eating, but honestly although my dogs absolutely loved eating from these things I can’t really say it slowed them down all that much.
Steeplejack
@Laura W:
Whew. I thought you were going to post another Flight of the Conchords video. Damn you, you got me hooked on that show, after I
successfullypartially ignored the whole first season. I know you like "Business Time," but what won me over was "The Humans Are Dead." Song was running through my head all day today.Steeplejack
@Just Some Fuckhead:
LOL.
shep
Enjoyed your rant @11 Joshua James. Obviously, our host has it backwards. The injustice isn’t the .1% for whom the rules don’t always apply it’s the 99.9% of us for whom they always do.
shortstop
If I had a nickel for every time I’ve said this…um, I’d have 15 cents. The current model is a wildly improbable beagle-Doberman mix. She’s a complete sweetie. The Dobie dilutes the worst excesses of beaglehood.
Al Swearengen
Fuck Daschle. There is someone else in the 300 million of us qualified for the job. Honestly, why do we have to rely on the same fucking retread retards every time, even if they screw up?
This all goes to the same sense of professional entitlement that allows Bushy forgiveness for his war crimes. Time to kill our 2-tiered system of law and make examples of these motherfuckers.
There needs to be a new law that you cheat on your taxes, you’re out of gov’t work forever. After you pay your penalties like a regular citizen, a complete freeze-out. No lobbying, no contract work, no appointments, no office-holding.