I've been working on our 2008 taxes and right now this Daschle thing is really aggravating me.

[Skidmore]

We sweat each year over whether or not we will end up owing the government money. We're older empty nesters with no real deductions beyond our mortgage interest and our car registration fees. I know we are at low risk for audit but still we do everything we can to make certain we don't owe at the end and, if we do, to pay it off promptly. Federal and state. Even owing a few hundred dollars makes a difference to us.

This crap with Daschle particularly is galling because he knew there was a problem and sought to hide it. With all of the money he has, he could not afford to pay off $140K over a three year period? Why are these people with large amounts of money so invested in cutting corners? And, BTW, he helped write tax legislation. I don't buy it that he didn't understand the tax code or that his accountant didn't either.

I want his name withdrawn and someone else put forward. Daschle is not the only person in this nation that can work on health care changes.

[Rabrrrrrr]

1. Especially given how far into the health industry his roots go, he is a bad choice.

Or, certainly, at least a very suspicious choice.

[DrDan]

2. I agree completely

had it been you or I, we would be hiring attorneys.

This is just not right - whether a dem or a repub - just not right.

And Daschle knows it. And Obama knows it.

The worst part is them taking us for fools - like he just discovered this innocent error. CRAP!

[BOSSHOG]

3. For asundry reasons

this year will be quite a complex tax return for us with lots more paper work then usual. And yes, the news of Daschle pisses me the fuck off. I'm no tax expert but I do take the time to read the rules and abide by them.

[Skidmore]

4. Boss, I've just come back from the White House website where I e-mailed

the President. I don't think he reads these things personally but I sure hope someone passes comments from the e-mails on to him. I asked that he withdraw Daschle's name from consideration and that the position be offered to Dr. Dean, who has already done the work of bringing reform to healthcare and doesn't have the stink of corporate lobbying on him. I feel better now that I did something other than steam.

We, like you, try our best to obey the tax laws. These people in public office should be held to the same standards to which they hold ordinary citizens.

[SKKY]

5. Didn't he say it was something his tax preparer, or his office staff overlooked?

It wouldn't surprise me. A good friend of mine runs his own business, and he's always forgetting stuff like this- having to file amended returs, etc. And this is just a small web services development outfit with 3 employees, including himself. Not more than 200K a year in revenue. Daschle made, what a couple million? I'm not making excuses for his sloppiness. I'm just saying, I don't think he deliberately misled or lied. Either way, I think Dean would be a much better choice for HHS regardless of whether or not Daschle paid as should have.

[mtnsnake]

6. Amen to what you said

It's one thing for the average Joe to try and cut a couple corners to save a few hundred bucks, but it's downright annoying when the same people who are supposed to be responsible for making the tax system work are the ones who try to buck the system the most. How nice that someone as rich as Daschle would try to avoid paying his fair share of taxes. As always, when the rich buck the sytem, the burden gets shifted onto everyone elses shoulders. Thanks Tom.

K&R

[waiting for hope]

7. With the amount of money he has made -

he has enjoy tax breaks many of us would never see -

In recent months, Daschle has advocated for changes to the U.S. health system that are unpopular with sizable portions of the industry, including some physicians, drugmakers and insurance companies. Daschle has nonetheless prospered from a stream of income from the health sector, including $220,000 in speaking fees in the past two years, according to the ethics filing.

He also has been a trustee of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. For part of the $2 million he received from the law firm Alston & Bird over the past two years, Daschle also reported that he gave "policy advice" to United Health, a conglomerate that sells insurance, helps the government administer Medicaid, advises drug companies and physicians and dispenses prescriptions.

The 12 organizations or companies that paid Daschle speaking fees, ranging from $12,000 to $30,000, included the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy and America's Health Insurance Plans, an influential trade group.

The Health Industry Distributors Association, a trade association representing medical product distributors, wrote to Daschle last week to express concerns about proposed Medicare changes and reminded him of the $14,000 speech he delivered at its conference last year.

~Snip~

It is impossible to determine Daschle's current net worth with precision because his assets and income are reported in ranges. He also wrote that the value of some assets was "not readily ascertainable," including profit-sharing arrangements with InterMedia Partners, owned by Leo J. Hindery Jr., a longtime donor to Democratic campaigns and causes, and stock options granted to him by the commercial real estate firm CB Richard Ellis and by ethanol research company Mascoma Corp.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/31/AR2009013102021_2.html?sid=ST2009013102055&s_pos=