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Palin's Taxes
Email
ShareOctober 03, 2008 7:40 PM
ABC News' David Wright, Alyssa Litoff and Imtiyaz Delawala report: After significant pressure from the Obama-Biden campaign, the McCain-Palin campaign today finally released the 2006 and 2007 tax returns for Sarah and Todd Palin, along with a public financial disclosure document the candidate recently filed in connection with her bid for the vice presidency.
The documents paint the picture of a well-to-do middle class family with two income earners. Palin is clearly the primary breadwinner, earning more than twice as much as her husband, even though the so-called "First Dude" operates two businesses –- commercial fishing and income from snowmobile racing.
According to the most recent return, Todd Palin's fishing business grossed less than $50,000 in 2007 for a profit of $15,513. His snow machine racing business grossed $17,000 but home office expenses meant that he claimed a net loss of nearly $10,000.
It is, however, Sarah Palin’s income that is liable to draw the scrutiny of tax authorities. And it is not immediately clear whether the figures detailed in these newly-released forms will resolve questions that have already been raised.
Of particular interest: roughly $17,000 in state-issued per diems for evenings spent in her own home in Wasilla. The Washington Post recently reported that the per diems and associated travel costs from the state capital in Juneau for Palin’s family could mean a tax liability of more than $60,000 for Palin’s first year and a half as governor.
The address listed on the 1040’s is Palin's family home in Wasilla, which would seem to suggest Palin considers that, not the governor’s mansion in Juneau, her "tax home." However the McCain-Palin campaign maintains that her “tax home” is technically the governor's mansion in Juneau.
The point is potentially significant because any per diems and travel reimbursements received in connection with someone’s “tax home” would likely be taxable as income. According to IRS regulations: "If you (and your family) do not live at your tax home (defined earlier), you cannot deduct the cost of traveling between your tax home and your family home. You also cannot deduct the cost of meals and lodging while at your tax home."
The IRS also strictly forbids deductions for expenses incurred bringing a spouse and kids along on a business trip. Tax authorities say any reimbursement for travel costs for family members would likely incur income taxes.
But Palin’s tax returns indicate she paid no taxes on the disputed per diems and travel expenses.
The McCain-Palin campaign insists Palin did not owe taxes on the per diems because of an understanding reached between the IRS and the Alaska Division of Finance, giving the state broad discretion in determining whether such reimbursements are taxable. (“Income Tax Implications Of Long-Term Per Diem”)
The campaign also issued an advisory letter dated September 30, 2008 by Washington tax attorney Roger M. Olsen stating that: “she is entitled to meal and incidental allowance payments when away from her duty station and tax home performing services for her employer; it is not relevant that she spends the night at her family home rather than in government paid lodging.”
Finally, the campaign insists she saved the state money hundreds of thousands of dollars on her travel costs, compared to previous Alaska governors.
However, a Washington tax attorney who supports Obama disputes that argument.
"She's using her state office as a means to generate a favorable tax status for herself," he said. "You and I couldn't do that."
There also appears to be a discrepancy between the income Palin reports to the IRS and the income listed on the public financial disclosure reform she recently filed in conjunction with the campaign.
That form lists her income as governor of Alaska as $196,531.50. However that’s greater than the combined income with Todd Palin she reported on her 2007 1040: $151,556. The W-2 form submitted for 2007 lists her wages and other compensation at $107,987.
Which begs the question: what happened to that extra $88,544? According to the McCain-Palin campaign, the additional amount represents the salary Palin earned in 2008, during the period not covered by the 2006 and 2007 tax returns.
Palin makes no separate accounting of travel expenses and reimbursements on the public financial disclosure form. Although the form does include a space for listing reimbursements from any one source over $260, the form simply says, “Not Applicable to candidate.”
October 3, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (520)
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I am concerned with Governor Palin's tax returns. I am concerned about all the lies Palin and McCain have told. I am concerned with McCain's ties to Phil Gramm, Keating, and the anti-American Wall Street Thieves that have brought this
country to it's knees.
PALIN IS THE "BOY TOY" SELECTED BY THE MCCAIN AND A SEXIST GOP.
I watched the debate between Governor Palin (5 weeks of national debate experience) versus Senator Biden (35 years of national debate experience).
Obviously, SHE is a POLITICAL HACK WHO WON'T ANSER QUESTIONS AND INSTEAD WILL
TALK ABOUT WHAT SHE PLEASES (THOUGH BADLY.)
John McCain showed poor judgment in choosing her, HE'S OBVIOUSLY COULD CARE LESS
ABOUT AMERICA AND THE MIDDLE CLASS. He loses 5 HOMES, he's ok with that. What about you losing your home? ARE YOU OK WITH THAT?
MCCAIN HAS BASED HIS ENTIRE CAMPAIGN ON LIES. HE HAS TOO MANY TIES TO WALL STREET DANDIES AND ANTI-AMERICANS WHO RAMSACK THIS COUNTRY AND HAVE MAILBOXES IN BERMUDA TO AVOID PAYING TAXES. DON'T FORGET HE VOTED 95% WITH BUSH, MCCAIN VOTED AGAINST FUNDING VETERANS BENEFITS. McCain's ties to Phil Gramm, Jim Leach and other Wall Street goons caused the country's mortgage foreclosure issues and reckless loan funding and sharking. PALIN IS UNDER INVESTIGATION FOR ABUSE OF AUTHORITY IN ALASKA. McCain is an unrepentant tool.
I'm voting for the Honorable Obama in November.
STOP THE DRAIN - NO MCCAIN!
Posted by: REPLACE CORRUPT-REPUBLICANS IN CONGRESS | Oct 3, 2008 8:34:37 PM
Manolete, Manolete:
What are we to make of you? One day you are Paul Revere, sounding a clarion call: TO ARMS!!!! Your trademark CAPS SCREAMING at the world. The next day you are a sensitive, concerned feminist, urging us to get a woman in the White House as an equal partner. You, my friend, sound like two different people. Or someone of two different minds. Or someone WITH two minds! Or possibly many, many minds. And for sure - much time to post cut-and-paste screeds all over the boards. Bless your heart...
Posted by: joel | Oct 3, 2008 8:35:16 PM
Wow! This Palin family is so crooked!
1: Troopergate
2: Son gets arrested for vandelizing school buses, gets sent to Michigan school where he plays hockey...hence the term "hockey mom."
3. to be continued....I'm sure
Posted by: peter | Oct 3, 2008 8:38:26 PM
Palin is a great performer.
She can be chosen as an American Idol.
Good for entertainment.
I enjoy watching her winks, flirting with cameras, and most of all, her flat fall face.
But Thanks no thanks for VP of USA.
Posted by: zen | Oct 3, 2008 8:39:30 PM
I guess putting this information out at a time when the "base" is so enamored with Gov Palin, she could hardly do any wrong is another strategic campaign move from the same crew who sold the American people Bush twice.
Yep, folks -- the McCain/Palin campaign crew is peopled by mostly the same gang who gave us George W Bush.
Honestly, are you better off now than eight years ago? Please be honest, at least with yourself.
We need real change. In front of the screen and most definitely behind the scenes.
Posted by: dassis | Oct 3, 2008 8:40:26 PM
It is far worse than any science fiction horror movie - IT IS REAL!
Humans are roaring down the highway to extinction.
Did you notice that WWII resulted in the biggest kill in history - some 40 million in a very short time period? Have you noticed that the origin of the problem is the large number of criminals suported by the economies of large cities? Have you noticed that the wonders of modern technology are increasing big city populations on a day by day basis?
Obviousy big city populations MUST BE CONTROLLED TO BREAK THE STEADY DEGENERATION. Equally obvious is the fact nothing is being done to stop it! Nor will anything be done in the future! This is mass suicide, sometimes compared to lemmings diving into the ocean and drowning.
YOU ARE NUTS!
Posted by: Todd Baker | Oct 3, 2008 8:41:17 PM
Hockey mom...I didn't know the story behind her being a 'hockey mom'.
THIS WOMAN DEFINITELY DOESN'T SPEAK FOR ME or TO ME!
What a fake!
Posted by: tamaraJohnson | Oct 3, 2008 8:42:04 PM
You people are frikkin idiots. You are trying to make a mountain out of a mole hill. You want to compare questionable activities, look at Rezko, Farrahkan, Ayers, Wright, and the assholes who received millions as CEO fro Fannie and Freddie just before it became a problem. Obama "claims" he questioned Fannie and Freddies stability a year ago, hmmm makes me wonder if his friend and Advisor Raines had some inside information on the stability of Fannie and Freddie. Back in 2003 Bush called for more regulation for Freddie and Fannie only to have fudge packin Barney Franks (Dem-Mass) come out and say that Freddie and Fannie are fine and there was no problems with Fannie and Freddie. Now we know that our economic problems stem from the mortgages that Freddie and Fannie gave to people who could not afford such long mortgages. ABC and most of the people on this blog are idiots.
Posted by: Dave | Oct 3, 2008 8:42:37 PM
AFTER THE BLATANT AND STUNNING SEXISM LAUNCHED AGAINST THE AMERICAN WOMEN by Sarah Palin and her team of "Aides", democratic Obama supporters were thrilled to hear Hillary Cinton stands in support of Obama, because, he offers Americans a chance to vote for someone who is free to chose, free to think, free to do what is best for her family, and who represents a party that, while we don't agree on all the issues, has always taken women seriously.
HAVING A STRONG LEADER IN THE WHITE HOUSE, AND NOT A PRODUCT OF LOBBYISTS, IS A WELCOME CHANGE FOR AMERICA. Americans of all walks of life are hungry for the hope and change that only the Honorable Obama and his very experienced Vice President choice, Senator Biden can bring. With the Sarah Palin nomination, McCain has demonstrated voters that cheap thrills are more important than leading and honorable campaign gor him. Having watched their candidate and their principles betray the very people who are supposed to be the flame-holders for equal rights and fairness, they now look for new ways to ruin America
THE BUSH/MCCAIN PARTY BULLYING OF THE AMERICAN TRUST CANNOT BE FORGOTTEN NOR PARDONED.
THE TIME IS NOW FOR A TRUE, THOUGHFUL, AND INTELLIGENT LEADER TO BE IN THE WHITE HOUSE.
VOTE OBAMA/BIDEN '08!
Posted by: NO MORE RAMSACKING OF AMERICA WITH MCCAIN | Oct 3, 2008 8:45:03 PM
Question, why is a candidate for the President of the United States (Barack Obama) hiring a lawyer, Joe Sandler who provides legal representation for CAIR, the Counsel of American-Islamic Relations, which was founded by the terrorists of Hamas? Barack Obama wants to be the Commander in Chief of the US in the war on terror yet is using a lawyer for CAIR a group with terrorist connections. Philip Berg’s filed law suit in the federal court requesting that Barack Obama produce his birth certificate to prove that he is eligible to be President and Barack Obama to hire this lawyer and does not present his original birth certificate to the courts. We are now waiting for the judge to rule on the motion. If the judge grants the case the trial will not start until after the November 4th election. So why does the Junior Senator from Illinois hire a lawyer instead of just providing a copy of the original birth certificate to the courts? WHY?
Posted by: Mike | Oct 3, 2008 8:45:16 PM
These tax releases always bring up more questions than they provide answers. Is Palin really hiding income from the Feds?
Posted by: matt | Oct 3, 2008 8:46:19 PM
"I am concerned about all the lies Obama has told. I am concerned with Obama's ties to terrorists, anti-Americans and the corrupt "organizations" he has been associated with. "
We have traced your server and you will be watched; including your movements with regard to President Obama's geographical location.
Posted by: jim mchiggins | Oct 3, 2008 8:50:57 PM
The only reason the leftist and Messiah paid posters are in a tizzy today, is because Sarah hit the home run yesterday.
Infact, I thought with the enormous pressure the lady was under by the media and Obama hate brigade which railroaded HIllary, she might break down but to my surprise it Was Biden who cried.
McCain/Palin 08
Posted by: vic | Oct 3, 2008 8:52:25 PM
Can I nail and bundle up a couple of tax cheats, for a three year stay at Club Fed, in under a minute? Oh you betcha!
Posted by: IRS GUY | Oct 3, 2008 8:52:27 PM
Why would someone have such a strong need to hate someone? Obviously they are unhappy in their lives. As an Independent I find it quite easy to state that Governor shouldn't have been chosen. She doesn't have enough experience. And she seems like a very lovely women with a very nice family. And I either like her policies or I do not. Why the need to demonize her and to try to ripe her apart? I can understand wanting to do that to someone who has hurt other people - although that's not my style... So why the hate???
Posted by: Juli An | Oct 3, 2008 8:55:09 PM
Palin seems way too comfortable lying, even for a politician. The exclusion of what seems to be taxable income from her tax forms seems consistent with her other behavior. At least she has that going for her.
Posted by: wanderer | Oct 3, 2008 8:56:30 PM
Mike, stop your lying and look at the Palin's tax returns -- that's what this posting board is about.
FROM FACTCHECK.ORG
Regarding Barack Obama's American citizenship
Born in the U.S.A.
August 21, 2008
Updated: August 26, 2008
The truth about Obama's birth certificate.
Summary
In June, the Obama campaign released a digitally scanned image of his birth certificate to quell speculative charges that he might not be a natural-born citizen. But the image prompted more blog-based skepticism about the document's authenticity. And recently, author Jerome Corsi, whose book attacks Obama, said in a TV interview that the birth certificate the campaign has is "fake."
We beg to differ. FactCheck.org staffers have now seen, touched, examined and photographed the original birth certificate. We conclude that it meets all of the requirements from the State Department for proving U.S. citizenship. Claims that the document lacks a raised seal or a signature are false. We have posted high-resolution photographs of the document as "supporting documents" to this article. Our conclusion: Obama was born in the U.S.A. just as he has always said.
Analysis
Since we first wrote about Obama's birth certificate on June 16, speculation on his citizenship has continued apace. Some claim that Obama posted a fake birth certificate to his Web page. That charge leaped from the blogosphere to the mainstream media earlier this week when Jerome Corsi, author of a book attacking Obama, repeated the claim in an Aug. 15 interview with Steve Doocy on Fox News.
Corsi: Well, what would be really helpful is if Senator Obama would release primary documents like his birth certificate. The campaign has a false, fake birth certificate posted on their website. How is anybody supposed to really piece together his life?
Doocy: What do you mean they have a "false birth certificate" on their Web site?
Corsi: The original birth certificate of Obama has never been released, and the campaign refuses to release it.
Doocy: Well, couldn't it just be a State of Hawaii-produced duplicate?
Corsi: No, it's a -- there's been good analysis of it on the Internet, and it's been shown to have watermarks from Photoshop. It's a fake document that's on the Web site right now, and the original birth certificate the campaign refuses to produce.
Corsi isn't the only skeptic claiming that the document is a forgery. Among the most frequent objections we saw on forums, blogs and e-mails are:
* The birth certificate doesn't have a raised seal.
* It isn't signed.
* No creases from folding are evident in the scanned version.
* In the zoomed-in view, there's a strange halo around the letters.
* The certificate number is blacked out.
* The date bleeding through from the back seems to say "2007," but the document wasn't released until 2008.
* The document is a "certification of birth," not a "certificate of birth."
Recently FactCheck representatives got a chance to spend some time with the birth certificate, and we can attest to the fact that it is real and three-dimensional and resides at the Obama headquarters in Chicago. We can assure readers that the certificate does bear a raised seal, and that it's stamped on the back by Hawaii state registrar Alvin T. Onaka (who uses a signature stamp rather than signing individual birth certificates). We even brought home a few photographs.
(and it continues with the photos)
BY THE WAY -- fackcheck.org is not attached to either political party.
Posted by: dassis | Oct 3, 2008 9:00:42 PM
Juli An--perhaps you did not hear Palin's acceptance speech. I found it not only nonfactual, but demeaning and offensive as well. Palin is a self described barracuda. Nothing wrong with that, politics is a contact sport. But she is going to get smacked back, especially when she and First Dude get caught red handed in tax dodging.
Posted by: ToastOnDayOne | Oct 3, 2008 9:01:49 PM
Congrats to Palin for winning the debate last night. Biden appeals to the brain, but Palin appeals to the heart. I noticed Biden didn't say a single word about Palin's inexperience, knowing in his heart that Obama is not qualified.
Posted by: young_voter | Oct 3, 2008 9:09:47 PM
What if those 1000 some emails which Troopergate defense lawyers are refusing to release (some copied to First Dude) reference personal 2006 and 2007 tax deduction questions to various government officials?
That would surely be a good reason to cover them up given the issues raised on these two released years of Palin tax filings?
Posted by: julie | Oct 3, 2008 9:24:33 PM
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