Tag: IRS (page 3)

Camp (R-Midland), and Chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, made the following statement upon announcement that Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Acting Commissioner Steve Miller would resign effective early June.

"The American people should be able to trust and have faith that, not only the IRS, but that the tax code will treat them fairly.  This resignation does nothing to change the culture of discrimination at the IRS.  And, it certainly does nothing to change the fact that the tax system is targeting honest, hardworking taxpayers instead of working for them.  There are still far too many unanswered questions and until we know what truly happened, we cannot fully fix what is wrong.  This Committee wants the facts, and the American people deserve answers to why they were targeted on the basis of their political beliefs.  The IRS has demonstrated a culture of cover up and has failed time and time again to be completely open and honest with the American people.  This investigation will continue so Congress can ensure that no taxpayer is unfairly targeted.

"The Committee and the American people deserve honest answers from Mr. Miller at our hearing this Friday."

Or if it will matter.

"The recent revelation that the IRS took steps to intentionally target a range of conservative groups is deeply disturbing, and the acceptance of the IRS acting commissioner's resignation today is the bare minimum that the President should accept.  Asking the Treasury Department to further investigate itself is not good enough.  The Administration must consider appointing an outside special counsel to make certain that those responsible are brought to justice.

"The American people will not stand for this blatant affront on free speech and harassment.  The truth must be brought forward, and the Congress will hold firm on bringing all those responsible to the forefront and ensure the proper protections are in place to protect each and every citizen's constitutional rights.  The American people must be able to trust their government, and in this case clearly there was abuse of power.  That cannot happen in America."

There should be non-stop congressional hearings on ALL the activities this administration has been involved in.  The IRS is merely the tip of the proverbial iceberg. A special investigator should not have hands tied to merely THIS violation of first amendment rights, but should be encouraged to root out ALL the corruption Obama has cultivated during his term.

Levin used his weight to ask the IRS to give special attention to groups that were somewhat political:

"Levin's list contained nine conservative groups, including Club for Growth, Americans for Tax Reform, and Americans for Prosperity. It also included two liberal groups and one centrist group.

The IRS officials were reportedly already aware that the agency had been targeting conservative groups for special scrutiny during the time Levin was corresponding with Shulman and Lerner.

Thank God this clown is moving along.  However, what about his protege, Gary Peters?  Congressman Peters, who had lately been commenting on the actions of the IRS,

"For the IRS to wildly misuse its authority and target people or groups on ideological grounds goes against the core of our democracy and sets a dangerous precedent,"

Nope.  Peters was standing with Obama and the Dem Senators like Levin when his reelection was years away, but now he's just hoping to resonate with some voters back home.  Just another election year conversion of convenience.

Way to be a real advocate for free speech, Gary.

When the squishy policies of entitlement theory fall from the vine under their own weight, sour grapes soon turn to whine:

"Rep. Levin Asks I.R.S. To Look Into Mackinac Center

Questioning whether the Mackinac Center for Public Policy engaged in lobbying activities when it claimed on its tax disclosure forms it did not, U.S. Rep. Sander Levin (D-Royal Oak) has sent a letter to the Internal Revenue Service asking it to review the organization and take "appropriate actions" to ensure it complies with requirements for tax-exempt charitable and education organizations."

The MEA would toss them at anyone.

Self serving labor organizations (are there any others?) have no friends outside of their official ranks.  Those high paying union jobs (not those of the teachers, etc) and top management positions require careful farming of available taxpayer provided resources.  In fact, a 2009 report by Paul Kersey at the Mackinac center shows its overhead and operating is TWICE what the bargaining costs:

MEA is a bloated organization. According to our calculations, 25.6 percent of the union's budget went to representation, compared to 57.3 percent for overhead. This is actually an improvement from the 2006-2007 report, which showed just 22 percent going to representation. Nevertheless, MEA still spends more than twice as much on overhead than it does on representing teachers. That's the exact opposite of what one would find in reasonably well-run non-profit.

So they had to respond, and the Tomcat on the fence as I pointed out, stands out in full contrast to the moon's glow.  The worn soles are flying, and the MEA is tossing them. By attempting to recall the majority leader Richardville and others:

The Monroe resident leading the recall drive against Senate Majority Leader Randy Richardville said the Michigan Education Association notified him today the teachers union will support the effort.

"I was grateful," Ernie Whiteside said. "It certainly will be easier to increase our volunteer group by working officially through the MEA leadership."

Whiteside said Doug Pratt, MEA's director of public affairs, called him today to give him the news.

Except there may be a problem.

The Ivory Tower reports this morning that Michigan's very own Governor Jennifer Granholm has landed smack dab on the Obama administration's short list of potential nominees to fill outgoing Justice David Souter's seat on the United States Supreme Court.

Others on the list: California Supreme Court Justice Carlos Moreno, Solicitor General Elena Kagan, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and U.S. Appeals Court judges Sonia Sotomayor, Diane Pamela Wood and former Deputy Attorney General James Comey.

Never mind that Granholm has zero days total experience sitting on any judicial bench- she makes up for her relatively amateurish legal credentials with the sort of resume line item that seems to grab President Obama by the throat and refuses to let go.

What Jennifer Granholm has that every other member of that esteemed list lacks (we assume) is the kind of personal history that the President's other early-term appointments indicate he values the most... serious personal tax problems.

The Detroit Free Press reported that an $800 lien was "placed against the Wayne County home of Granholm and her husband in 2006 for failing to file unemployment insurance reports on their nanny."

But that was only the start of the Governor's difficulties with the tax man. Last year the Internal Revenue Service came calling on Jennifer Granholm in an attempt to collect nearly $20,000 in taxes she'd failed to pay on an inaugural committee, dating all the way back to 2003.  To show they were serious they brought a nearly $20,000 tax lien with them.

The lien was necessary, according to Lansing's WILX, because Granholm had ignored at least four previous attempts by the IRS to collect the back taxes. In other words, she isn't just a tax cheat... she is a chronic tax cheater.

The Obama administration has been embarrassed nearly a half-dozen times in the last three months by revelations that their nominees to various high ranking positions had personal histories of tax avoidance.

Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius was the most recent nominee to be tarnished by a tax scandal after she was tabbed to work as the Secretary of Health and Human Resources, a position for which Governor Granholm was also considered. The Washington Times:

The seemingly ever-growing list of nominees with tax issues also includes:

• First HHS Secretary nominee and former Democratic Sen. Tom Daschle of South Dakota who filed over $140,000 in back taxes and interest in January after failing to disclose more than $300,000 in income, including the use of a car and driver. His violations of the tax code remain the most impressive and lead to his removing his name for consideration.

• Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner failed to pay more than $40,000 in payroll taxes when he worked for the International Monetary Fund, correcting the error before the Senate voted on his nomination.

• The husband of Labor Secretary Hilda Solis paid around $6,400 prior to her nomination vote for tax liens on his Los Angeles auto repair business dating from 1993. The White House said Ms. Solis and her husband were unaware of the lien.

• Chief Performance Officer nominee Nancy Killefer withdrew her nomination in the wake of the Daschle tax disclosures after it came to light that she had a $947 tax lien filed against her by the District of Columbia in 2005 for failing to pay compensation taxes for a domestic employee. District records show she owed $298 in unemployment compensation, $48.69 in interest, and $600.00 in penalties that she paid five months later.

A Granholm nomination would represent the sixth Obama selection with serious personal tax issues, a rate of about two per month.

Most Americans pay their taxes and they pay them on time.  Most politicians pay their taxes and pay them on time.  Most Democrats, too.  To not only find but to nominate SIX individuals with personal histories of chronic tax avoidance... someone looking in from the outside could get the idea that President Obama is actively searching for them.

Tax cheats Sebelius, Daschle, Geithner, Solis, Killefer...and now, potentially Granholm.  That's an impressive list of scofflaws-turned-nominees.  

Moreno, Kagan, Napolitano, Sotomayor, Wood and Comey clearly have no chance at an Obama nomination... not with their sparkling records of good citizenship and on-time tax payment.  They might as well throw in the towel. Well, throw in the towel or immediately refuse to pay heir taxes.  Either way.