Cynical Nation

Frankly, I dont think is that funny. Geithner did not cheat.

In my little town, all the kids who had trouble with the law growing up ended up being the law.

PE, it sounds like you and I grew up in the same town. :-)

"Frankly, I dont think is that funny. Geithner did not cheat." (BW)


Actually, he had flat out refused to pay his back (self-employment) taxes (taxes he KNEW he owed) until AFTER being embarassed before Congress.

Tax AVOIDANCE: Making use of EVERY single deduction and using EVERY available law to lower your tax liability to its lowest possible number - is completely LEGAL, right and just.

Tax EVASION: Illegally seeking to hide income, take deductions you don't qualify for, or.....refusing to pay your taxes is a felony.

In Geithner's case, wasn't it revealed that he hadn't paid $35,000 in self-employment taxes for several years, even though he'd acknowledged his obligation to do so, and had filed a request for, and received, a payment for half the taxes owed?

And wasn't that failure to pay self-employment taxes noted during a 2006 audit by the IRS, in which Geithner was assessed additional taxes of about 15 Grand for the 2003 and 2004 tax years?

I believe that Geithner also failed to pay self-employment taxes for the 2001 and 2002 tax years until AFTER Obama expressed his intent to nominate Geithner to be Secretary of Treasury.

And wasn't he also found to have deducted the cost of his children's sleep-away camp as a dependent care expense, when only expenses for day care are eligible for the deduction?

The fact that Tim Geithner subsequently paid the IRS the additional taxes owed, and was charged $15,000 interest, though he wasn't fined for late payment, doesn't change the fact that it appears that Geithner was involved in tax EVASION, rather than mere tax avoidance.