Timely Tim

MayBee (12:55 PM) may have the key here. He may have got a W-2 with no S.S. withheld. I could see the IMF doing that I guess, but never personally. That doesn't relieve him, however. And like I said before, I find it nearly impossible for him, especially as the Treasury Secretary appointee, and overseer of the IRS, to not have known what it meant.

Obama supporters thought Joe the plumber was awful because he owed $1,000 in back taxes.

But it's just fine that Obama's choice to lead the IRS is a tax cheat.

He never did anything about the corruption in Chicago either except ignore it.

One more thing. The illegal "maid" is a B.S. catch all "gotcha" that the rival parties have used against each other for years. Who doesn't ask someone to clean the house, cut the grass, or clean the siding once in a while without bothering to tell the IRS they are your employee! So, I don't hold that against him.

jhw539; Also, there maybe something here I've not seen before, so if he had withholding on a W-2, I suppose there is something I don't fully understand here. The story is very short on details, but from what I know about the topic, it sounds like he was an independent "worker" not on a W-2, not an employee. Do you understand what I'm getting at?

That this mean that we don't have to pay taxes until someone audits us and then we say oops we forgot.
If he is that stupid and can't read the instructions, why on earth would the dem want him in that position.
But now it does not matter, PE Obama wants him and the rest of the sheep will follow.

jhw539 (11:38 AM); From all I can gleen from the story (and it doesn't give a complete story, I admit), the IMF had an arrangment with employees that they were not their employer. What that means to me is he got a 1099 for tax purposes. The way the paperwork goes, it leads you right down the path of paying both the employer AND employee share of social security. He probably had a salary(?) that offset the costs. Have you ever worked as an independent contractor on a 1099? Do you know what I'm talking about?

"Even though he turned out to be a liar and a welfare queen? "

And private citizen who dared to speak the truth to power [tm] and got investigated by politicos (D) who abused their office (D) to launch smear investigations because asked a question of their Messiah (D).

Hello??? Is anybody on The Hill awake or breathing? This guy will be OVERSEEING the IRS - that same agency he's cheating! No way should be make the cut!

Don't just post comments! Send msgs to Finance Committee members!

"Wow. I seem to remember the media exploding all over Joe's back taxes."

Would that be when he was held up by the right wing as an anti-tax champion?

Even though he turned out to be a liar and a welfare queen?

Wow. I seem to remember the media exploding all over Joe's back taxes. This guy has repeatedly refused to pay what he owes until 1. he was caught and 2. the day before he's nominated.

Democrats sure have a a strange sense of morals. The Ways and Means Chairman is a crook and this guy is a deadbeat.

Linda Chavez was kept out of Bush's cabinet for less.

"Can the IMF not afford 1099s for its American employees?"

Not only is it a cushy job with a large income. But its also a tax free income!

After all that the guy resent paying the SE part? The rest of us have to pay all our taxes.

On the W-2 form he received, it said "NONE" under Social Security tax withheld. That seems fairly noticeable.

He proactively applied to get a gross up to be reimbursed for the SE tax he was supposed to pay, and he received documentation about how he was to go about paying SE tax.

Perhaps it is a difficult thing to understand, but I note he did not err on the side of paying too much.

Can the IMF not afford 1099s for its American employees?

OK, I have gone and read the actual Senate report pdf and its pretty damning.

Employees of the IMF essentially dont play Federal income tax. The IMF reimburses them for the amount they owe the Federal government in tax.

The W2 the employee receives has boxes with $0's for tax withheld for federal, state, FICA and SSN.

The IMF does in fact supply their employees with instructions on how to fill out their taxes. There are quarterly statements that need to be filled with the IRS, and then reimbursement forms that get filled with the IMF to receive back this money. Geithner filled these reembursements. Part of that is the line for self-employment tax.

The Senate report also has a copy of the emails that employees get from their HR telling them how to fill out the SSN SE tax info.

In summary- its almost impossible for anyone competent to run the Treasury not to know about this issue. And its also galling since the guy effectively was paying NO INCOME TAX AT ALL!

litleleeers: "For the rest of us peons....it's a different standard and jail time."

Again, this is just not true in this case. He was treated like any other little person. Whether or not this shows flaws in his character is a excellent question sure to be pounded on in the hearings, but the IRS played this by the same book you or I deal with.

The "elites" in the Obama circle have "one
standard" of conduct and are above the law.

For the rest of us peons....it's a different standard and jail time.

For those who voted for the likes of Obama,Pelosi, Reid, Frank, and now Minnesota senator/failed comedian Al Franken...... you got what you wanted.

These politicians are above the law and
most of the voters seem to love them anyway (though I am scratching my head).
When the economy goes further into the
tank and no one seems in charge, maybe
the voter will come back to their senses.

The IRS does not *audit* beyond 3 years. They can collect back taxes up to 10 years, although that statute of limitations does not apply if a return was fraudulent.

Obviously, Geithner knew he wouldn't be audited for the back taxes and expected he'd never be called on to pay them.
What he *didn't* do is correct the problem the minute he found out about it.

I just hope Obama and the other Democratic lawmakers are so understanding of all the people that really don't want to pay any more tax than they have to.

I rather like the idea of creative use and interpretation of tax laws by the chair of the tax writing committee and the possible head of the department that causes compliance. How many in a similar situation had to pay penalties as well as interest? It appears the Committee chair and potential Treas Sec are immune.

I am reminded of the father hitting his hand with a hammer and yelling out “a naughty word”. All the kids within ear shot suddenly started a chorus of the naughty word exclaiming: Now we can say “the naughty word”

Edited and reposted to meet the censor requirements, hopefully

Forbes says that everyone at the IMF receives instructions about this issue. Plus if you have ever paid the self employment tax you know its a huge bite- people would be grumbling all over the building. And should there have been quarterlies?

Forbes reported this as " employee's share". If the IMF didnt withhold the "employee's share" (verses make an employer contribution) it would be almost impossible for some one competent not to notice that glaring problem when they looked at their W2.

If this was a problem where the IMF didnt make the employer contribution then it would be much harder to detect. Except supposedly the IMF briefed everyone on it.

jhw539:
"Debating whether his actions make him unsuitable is entirely appropriate, but suggesting legal favoritism (beyond the obvious favoritism of being selected for the job) is entirely unfounded and distracts from the core issue. "

I'd agree. It doesnt seem like the IRS is showing him any favoritism that we can detect.

"The IRS does not collect taxes back beyond 3 years"

This is a character issue, not a technical issue.. He KNEW at the time of audit he had not properly paid social security taxes for the previous two years which were not being audited. An honest person would have corrected that situation. Instead, he waited until he got caught by the vetting process and now we see a bunch of excuses. Go ahead, tell me his accountant didn't tell him he also owed those taxes from the previous two years when he was audited.