McClatchyNews: Tim Geithner took Child Dependent-Care Tax Credit for Kids Summer Camps!

[KoKo]

and....he didn't pay the 10%Penalty for withdrawing money early from a federal retirement account, plus his hiring undocumented workers problems. Why is this guy above the law when the rest of us would have had the IRS and Federal Immigration Agents haul our butts in? :shrug:

-------------------

Were Geithner's unpaid taxes errors or cheating?
Kevin G. Hall | McClatchy Newspapers


A: One of the more egregious errors was that Geithner, over three different tax years, claimed that expenses for the summer camps he'd sent his children to qualified for the child and dependent-care tax credit. This credit is for working parents with children younger than 13 who send them to preschool or after-school care. IRS documents and commercially available tax software clearly define what qualifies.

"That's one anyone who has kids and has filled out that form knows that it's wrong. That's really odd," said Paul Caron, a prominent tax-law expert and associate dean at the University of Cincinnati College of Law.

Q: Aren't Geithner's problems evidence of complexity in the tax code?

A: The self-employment tax perhaps, but millions of Americans claim the child care credit without problems.

Documents that the Senate Finance Committee released suggest that Geithner also failed to pay a penalty tax for withdrawing money early from a federal retirement account.

There's a 10 percent penalty for doing that, and it's advertised up front for tax-deferred retirement accounts. This is as basic as it gets in the world of personal finance.

"I don't understand how the 10 percent withdrawal penalty could have fallen through the cracks. That's just a red flag," said Peter Sepp, spokesman for the National Taxpayers Union, a group that lobbies for simplifying the U.S. tax code.

Q: What about the immigrant housekeeper? A similar foul-up forced Zoe Baird to withdraw her nomination to be attorney general in 1993, so isn't this a double standard?

A: Baird withdrew after revelations that she hadn't paid federal taxes on an illegal alien in her employ. Geithner admits to a three-month period in which a foreign-born domestic employee's immigration documents had expired without his knowledge. He did pay her wage taxes, however.

Q: That's it?

A: No. Geithner acknowledged that he didn't acquire the required I-9 forms for verification of employment eligibility status from three domestic employees. He said that he did write down the document information and identification numbers. He said he verified the employees' immigration status but retained no hard proof. Over a decade, he also failed on numerous occasions to pay their Social Security or Medicare taxes until letters from the federal government reminded him.


http://www.mcclatchydc.com/227/v-print/story/59703.html

[n2doc]

1. Seems like the only way these guys get audited is when they get appointed

Maybe we should appoint all the 1% top income people to some sort of Government job, then put them through the wringer. Deficit problem solved!

Seriously, why does it always seem like, the richer the person, the more convoluted hoops they go through in order to avoid paying a few % of their income in taxes?

[Joanne98]

2. Taxes are for the little people

[KoKo]

12. Seems so....

[indepat]

3. Sounds like an egregious tax cheat, pure and simple

:P

[zazen]

4. OT: I thought summer camps for under 13 were covered if parents are working

Off topic, but "track out" camps in our year round schools in Wake County are considered eligible childcare expenses, whether they occur in February or July. Why should summer camps for students in traditional schools be any different if parents are working full-time? The overnight part is not covered, but a 9-5 amount is eligible for those under 13, or so I was always told. ?

[kentuck]

5. He's a scofflaw...

He thinks the laws are made for other people. Turn him down.

[WI_DEM]

6. Maybe before this gets too bad he should withdrawl and allow Obama to appoint somebody else

[CreekDog]

7. sounds like this may have saved him a little in the short term, nothing in the long term

and may deprive him of the job he's been nominated for.

sounds like a good business decision -NOT. :eyes:

[KoKo]

8. Only if he does the "Correct Thing" and looks on Himself like what befalls the rest of US

out here if we had his money and power and what would happen to us? I don't think these "Big Wigs" EVER GET IT! About how the "Rest of America" lives and what they have to go through to avoid the "Gubbermint" from TAKING EVERYTHING AWAY FROM THEM for the slightest infraction of the law. "THEY, like Geithener" are always "Above the Law."

That has to CHANGE! It just has to...;-(

[CreekDog]

9. to be fair however, a guy like this isn't doing his own taxes and payroll

he's probably having a bookkeeper or accountant do it.

once you have a certain income level, you are probably not very hands on about your financial paperwork.

i keep track of everything myself, but my income and investments are simple and relatively small. if i had more, if i had staff, if i had complicated tax filings, i would be relying on a tax preparer and would simply sign off with perhaps some review, but not an exhaustive review of whether they prepared my taxes correctly --that's what i'm paying THEM to figure out.

[KoKo]

11. Actually he DID do some of his taxes...which is mentioned in the article

and that the did let's him off hook for the earlier tax discrepancies. It's the OTHER STUFF revealed by McClatchy News in this post that are the problems that many of us need to be concerned about. :shrug:

[spanone]

10. kill him

:sarcasm:

[JackRiddler]

13. This is complete bullshit

Geithner absolutely should face the metaphorical guillotine -- as one of the architects of the planetary Ponzi scheme in large part run out of the Federal Reserve.

But not for this pennyante stuff (which deserves whatever the usual penalties are under the taxcode).

Anyway, if his failure meant we'd get someone outside the tight cabal of bankers who blew up Earth, it would be a great thing. But that's not going to happen. The next plunder chieftain will step up to replace him.

[slipslidingaway]

18. Kicking your reply, the tax problems were known in early

December, it is more of a smokescreen IMO.

But I'm going to R the thread for your response...in edit did not relize the thread was from yesterday.

[ProgressIn2008]

14. Meh, the rich and powerful are above the law - oldest story in the world. nt

[Poiuyt]

15. Why did all this not come up during the vetting process??

[leftofthedial]

16. even if this guy wasn't a flagrant tax criminal,

he's a BAD, status-quo choice. I wouldn't let his kind anywhere near an authentic attempt to fix the economy.

Maybe we can believe in Obama changing this nomination.

[WhaTHellsgoingonhere]

17. Yes, this is bothersome to me...

Geithner's behavior is indefensible, and I'm saddened to see Obama defend this guy. What's worse, Obama has tried to sweep the whole matter under the rug as a--as in single--common mistake.

Not a complete non sequitur since Geithner is an architech of bailout, but since I've been an ardent opponent of TARP from the very beginnig, I've considered where ILLINOIS state senator Obama would have come down on this matter. Would he, as he did in 2003 when he made his now famous speech against going to war with Iraq, and spoke out against TARP? I'm sure that, as was noted during the campaign, it's a lot easier to make speeches as a state senator from Illinois...

[bushmeister0]

19. What I love is when these guys get caught breaking the law

they get always get a pass. 'Oh, he made an honest mistake."

Try making a mistake on your taxes, honest or otherwise, and see how much of a pass you get.

Sorry, this guy's got something else coming out about him everytime you turn around. In the present situation, I don't think we can afford to have some tax cheat in charge of the Treasury.

That's not change, that's BushCo business as usual.