Tax Expert: Palin Has to Declare Clothes

Okay, here's what she does. She declares them as income, donates them to charity and takes the deduction, and its a wash. Or she declares them as income, then auctions them on ebay for charity at a huge profit and deducts the full charitable contribution to offset other income. Whatever she decides to do I'm sure she'll land on her high heeled feet.

The tax law is quite clear. If you can wear the clothes anywhere other than work, they are not deductible. So space suits are deductible. Business suits and dresses are not.

It's not simple. If RNC can somehow prove that the clothe are job related "uniforms", much like the space suits NASA astronauts wear, then they may still have an argument. After all, no astronauts paid tax on the suits.

wow

The fact that Palin says she's just borrowing the clothes and that they'll be "returned or given to charity" sounds like a concession speech to me. Anyone else?

It is all a strategy!!! The Republican always play around the facts the people are stupid and they’ll believe anything, and they act on that strategy. Lets’ face it most of them are old people, or very uneducated or very radical one sided that is the crowed of Rush Limbou and Foxnews. Scary but It worked in 2000 it worked in 2004 and they believed it will work this time also. The choice of Palin was also based on this. Lets us get a nice woman, the stupid people would love and believe beautiful well dressed woman and first vice president. What divides this country in not the government but the extremist on side radical republicans mentioned above. Rush Limbou what a wonderful maverick woman and he is still defending her. When something or somebody is wrong is wrong! and if you do not have the intelligence enough to see that than you are a moron.

OK, so a US Senator makes $169,300 a year. And the VP makes $221,000. The RNC doesn't see a problem with blowing 150K on DRESSING for the JOB INTERVIEW?

The fact that they spent $150K in a few days to dress Gov Palin and her family is shocking to most Americans, certainly, given that most American families don't make $150K in a year.

But that's not the problem. The problem is WHO spent the money. Perhaps Hillary Clinton *does* dress just as expensively. I don't know. But the DNC never bought Hillary clothes - not as a candidate, not as first lady, not as a candidate's wife. Never. Her clothes were NEVER paid for through anyone's campaign contributions.

John McCain himself objected to such expenditures when he and Russ Feingold wrote the current campaign finance laws. The fact that he would go along with the dressing of his running mate to the tune of $150K just shows how far from himself he's really come in this election. It's heart-breaking.

Come-on Republicans who are apologizing for this - would you REALLY be saying the same thing if this was a Democrat? Please. John Edward's $400 haircut is looking like a barain at this point.

If I'm not mistaken, Nancy Reagan got involved in the same problem; she had been accepting designer clothes to wear to public functions, and she wound up being investigated by the IRS. Then, as now, the issue came down to the fact that "loans" of designer clothes left those clothes devoid of value, and they therefore counted as income.

This happend 20+ years ago, so forgive me if my memory is inaccurate; however, it seems like the Nancy Reagan precedent should hold.

For those who wish to call Sarah Palin one of the guys who also spend oodles on clothes, I would like to remind them that Michelle Obama shops mostly at The Gap.

If Sarah is as popular in Alaska as they claim she is (a bogus claim by the way), then why shouldn't she dress the way she did as governor? Isn't Alaska high toned enough for Real Americans? Are they saying that people in Real America don't know how to dress well when they wear windbreakers and jogging suits? If it's good enough to wear to Walmart, isn't it good enough to wear to rallies attended by hockey moms and Joe Six-packs?

To take up Michelle Bachman's advice, I'm just saying that someone should look into this. What are Sarah Palin's objections to dressing like most American women? I'm not saying she is anti-American, heaven forbid. I just think the media should do an thorough investigation before we learn too late that the unraveling fabric of our democracy is actually a $1.5K suit from Saks.

I'll be talking with my tax specialist about a possible use of the "Palin defense"—deducting the cost of the clothes I wear to work, because you know, I have to look good too.

Come now, is this really a story? All the candidates and their wives by the way looks good themselves. Did you research how much they spend on their clothes?

Palin has been toasted in every which way. Been the subject of jokes and personal attacks. Been called many names you can't even say it here.

But notice how she persevere. How graceful she has been about the personal attacks against her. Here is a woman who is true to her belief and willing to offer her experience to the country she loves. What can be bad about that?

Just because we don't agree with her belief, aspirations and agenda doesn't mean we should maliciously and purposely makes her looks bad in every possible way.

So lets just give her a little slack and let her be just one the guys.

Spending $150,000 on clothes only the rich can afford is just the RNC's demonstration of how trickle-down works.

how can mccain run this country he can't even run his campaign.

he has needed two life lines

he was all but down and out
and he grabbed sarah palin

and then he started to sink and
he grabbed joe the plumber

william ayers will fair better with mccain tax plan.

maybe he will grab bill ayers. next.

wonder how much the rnc and fox paid for joe the plumbers suit. when he was on fox news in the morning?

milk em' joe milk em'!

what do you do when the economy is in the tank.

HOCKEY MOMS GO SHOPPING!

SHOP BABY SHOP!

I LOVE IT!

so while she was standing before the hockey moms saying "hey, i'm just like you,

behind your back she was SHOPPING!

SHOP BABY SHOP!

Heck, I have coins & no kids and never shop at those stores.

I'll stick with Banana Republic.

She does look good on those clothes or perhaps just as good out of them but looks don't matter, she is still not good as VP and that is what this election is about. Go back to Alaska with designers or without them you'll never make it in the National theater.

She could have very easily shopped somewhere else for at least a fourth of that cost. That's ridiculous...and a little heard to swallow.