Geithner Didn't Know He Had To Pay Taxes

[petertribo]

Wouldn't one of the qualifications for the job be that you pay your taxes?

"He failed to pay self-employment taxes for money he earned 2001 to 2004 while working for the IMF, according to materials released by the Senate committee. In 2006, the IRS notified him that he owed $14,847 in self-employment taxes and $1,885 in interest from 2003 and 2004, which he paid after an audit. The IRS waived penalties for those tax years.

Transition officials discovered last fall that Geithner also had not paid the taxes in 2001 or 2002. He paid $19,176 in back taxes and $6,794 in interest for 2001 and 2002 several days before Obama announced his choice, the committee documents showed. All told, Geithner had failed to pay $34,023 in self-employment taxes for the years 2001 to 2004.

Geithner and his supporters have said his mistake was a common one for people hired by international organizations that don't pay the employer share of Social Security taxes. The IRS estimated in 2007 that as many as half those employees had made tax-filing mistakes, and offered a group settlement to let them correct the errors. Geithner told Obama's team and senators that an accountant had reviewed his tax returns after Geithner prepared them and didn't discover the problem."

Sounds to me like these folks getting international positions just avoid their taxes.

And a problem with the housekeeper:

"One of his housekeepers' legal authorization to work in the United States expired on July 15, 2005, and the person continued to work for Geithner until October of that year, the committee's report states."

Best line on this is from Senator Hatch:

"I have no problem," Hatch told Fox News. "He's a very, very competent guy."

Of course he is competent to be a member of the Elite: he didn't pay his taxes and he employed an illegal immigrant.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/0..._n_157610.html

[GRG55]

Re: Geithner Didn't Know He Had To Pay Taxes

Wouldn't one of the qualifications for the job be that you pay your taxes?

"He failed to pay self-employment taxes for money he earned 2001 to 2004 while working for the IMF, according to materials released by the Senate committee. In 2006, the IRS notified him that he owed $14,847 in self-employment taxes and $1,885 in interest from 2003 and 2004, which he paid after an audit. The IRS waived penalties for those tax years.

Transition officials discovered last fall that Geithner also had not paid the taxes in 2001 or 2002. He paid $19,176 in back taxes and $6,794 in interest for 2001 and 2002 several days before Obama announced his choice, the committee documents showed. All told, Geithner had failed to pay $34,023 in self-employment taxes for the years 2001 to 2004.

Geithner and his supporters have said his mistake was a common one for people hired by international organizations that don't pay the employer share of Social Security taxes. The IRS estimated in 2007 that as many as half those employees had made tax-filing mistakes, and offered a group settlement to let them correct the errors. Geithner told Obama's team and senators that an accountant had reviewed his tax returns after Geithner prepared them and didn't discover the problem."

Sounds to me like these folks getting international positions just avoid their taxes.

And a problem with the housekeeper:

"One of his housekeepers' legal authorization to work in the United States expired on July 15, 2005, and the person continued to work for Geithner until October of that year, the committee's report states."

Best line on this is from Senator Hatch:

"I have no problem," Hatch told Fox News. "He's a very, very competent guy."

Of course he is competent to be a member of the Elite: he didn't pay his taxes and he employed an illegal immigrant.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/0..._n_157610.html

There's lots to complain about with most of these folks, but this is just plain petty.

1. The accountant should be held accountable.
2. Geithner doesn't qualify as one of the Elite [with a capital "E"]...he prepares his own taxes. There should be a law that every elected lawmaker should be required to prepare their own tax returns. Maybe then they might do something about the horrifically overcomplicated tax system they keep diddling with at every opportunity.

[SCAR]

Re: Geithner Didn't Know He Had To Pay Taxes

"Geithner and his supporters have said his mistake was a common one for people hired by international organizations that don't pay the employer share of Social Security taxes." fficeffice" />

During my career as an engineer I've worked many times outside of the ffice:smarttags" />US for foreign companies and have plenty of friends that have as well. I've nevermet anyone professionally employed in an international position that wasn’t aware that they had to pay SS tax. However, I've also met plenty of people who thought they could, and succeeded in, not paying SS tax while working abroad.

[BK]

Re: Geithner Didn't Know He Had To Pay Taxes - ELITE

Check out his Background -if your Grandfather was an adviser to a President doesn't that make you an ELITE.
His family is VERY well connected and has been since IKE was in the White House.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timothy_F._Geithner

[GRG55]

Re: Geithner Didn't Know He Had To Pay Taxes - ELITE

Check out his Background -if your Grandfather was an adviser to a President doesn't that make you an ELITE.
His family is VERY well connected and has been since IKE was in the White House.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timothy_F._Geithner

If your Grandfather was Al Capone does that make you a CRIMINAL?

Just askin'

[And could someone kindly tell us ignorant ones what exactly is the difference between an "elite", an "Elite" and an "ELITE" :rolleyes:]

[BK]

Re: Geithner Didn't Know He Had To Pay Taxes - ELITE

If your Grandfather was hanging around with Presidents - there is a VERY HIGH chance that there is enough family Money to keep you from being a working stiff and gets you access to jobs with the Government.

Would anyone else agree with this?

Or perhaps Mr Geithner got to be head of the New York Fed through his hard work, thorough knowledge of finance, economics, and the Tax code. ;-)

[*T*]

Re: Geithner Didn't Know He Had To Pay Taxes

The US is the only country I can think of where you pay tax at home for money earned abroad.

[GRG55]

Re: Geithner Didn't Know He Had To Pay Taxes - ELITE

If your Grandfather was hanging around with Presidents - there is a VERY HIGH chance that there is enough family Money to keep you from being a working stiff and gets you access to jobs with the Government.

Would anyone else agree with this?...

You would appear to be imminently qualified to seek employment at the Huffington Post. The point of my original comment seems to have completely escaped you.

What is with you people in the USA anyway?

At a time when your own economy is burning to the ground, and taking the rest of the world with it, why do you and so many of your countrymen, including the Huffington Post, waste so much energy on such chicken-shzt trivia as an overlooked item on Geithner's tax return or whether someone's nanny overstayed her work permit?

...Or perhaps Mr Geithner got to be head of the New York Fed through his hard work, thorough knowledge of finance, economics, and the Tax code. ;-)

If he is not qualified to head the New York Fed, or more important now, the US Treasury Department, because he does not work hard, and has a limited grasp of "finance, economics and the Tax Code", then the Senate confirmation process should turn him down on that basis. Not because his accountant failed to discover an omission on some past tax return.

Geezus man, the lives of virtually all of your countrymen [and much of the rest of the world] are about to be turned upside down due to corrupt actions that are a hell of a lot more important than what the Huffington Post wrote about Geithner. If that's the best they can do, they aren't trying very hard.

[GRG55]

Re: Geithner Didn't Know He Had To Pay Taxes - ELITE

What is with you people in the USA anyway?

At a time when your own economy is burning to the ground, and taking the rest of the world with it, why do you and so many of your countrymen, including the Huffington Post, waste so much energy on such chicken-shzt trivia...

...Geezus man, the lives of virtually all of your countrymen [and much of the rest of the world] are about to be turned upside down due to corrupt actions that are a hell of a lot more important than what the Huffington Post wrote about Geithner. If that's the best they can do, they aren't trying very hard.

Here's a good example of what I'm trying to point out.

The new Administration is going to "save" the domestic auto manufacturing industry by putting it under the watchful eye of...a "czar" from Private Equity? This is starting to sound exactly the way the Democrats handled appointments to head Fannie and Freddie; and look where that got your country. The FIRE economy would appear to be alive and well. :rolleyes:

Rattner as Car Czar Probably Wouldn’t Be an Iacocca

Jan. 14 (Bloomberg) -- Steven Rattner, who may become the U.S. car czar, would bring with him the financial savvy amassed during almost 25 years of deal-making... [how could you not like that line ]

...Rattner, co-founder of private-equity firm Quadrangle Group LLC, may be named by President-elect Barack Obama to oversee the restructuring of the U.S. auto industry, two people familiar with the matter said yesterday...

[BK]

Re: Geithner Didn't Know He Had To Pay Taxes - ELITE

I'm really not that worked up about Geithner and his tax situation.

You made the statement that he was not part of the Elite - I disagreed.

I only wish that President Elect Obama had appointed someone else to be Secretary of Treasury. I'd prefer an Old Guy who was brillant and interested in doing the Right Thing for his country and who didn't have to worry about the next step in is Government career path. I'm a dreamer - I know!

If you knew me better - you'd know I'm WAY to Conservative to be hired by the Huffington Post. ;-)

[GRG55]

Re: Geithner Didn't Know He Had To Pay Taxes - ELITE

I'm really not that worked up about Geithner and his tax situation.

You made the statement that he was not part of the Elite - I disagreed.

I only wish that President Elect Obama had appointed someone else to be Secretary of Treasury. I'd prefer an Old Guy who was brillant and interested in doing the Right Thing for his country and who didn't have to worry about the next step in is Government career path. I'm a dreamer - I know!

If you knew me better - you'd know I'm WAY to Conservative to be hired by the Huffington Post. ;-)

I don't think you and I are really that far apart. It just seems to me that the elite [or Elite, or ELITE, whatever] have uniformly misbehaved to such an outrageous degree, for such a long period of time, that media wasting time on the trivial misdeeds risks diluting/overlooking the truly destructive behaviours that are now causing so much damage to so many.

[Rantly McTirade]

Re: Geithner Didn't Know He Had To Pay Taxes

Geithner's been at the scene of the credit bubble crime for years and been a second-tier contributor to the whole mess; to think he's any more 'qualified' than Paulson, or will have any more success is nonsense. The tax/illegal alien things can fairly be called minor, but they're the kind of minor thing a alleged financial wizard should not do in the first place(alien maids visa ends on July 15, you make sure she's out the door, with a return plane ticket in hand, on that date, and tax-wise, review your accountants work with him in person). Geithner's an overcredentialed poindexter with no record of practical, real world accomplishment-other than a good schmoozer/presenter-a perfect member of Team Obozo, as that's the description of the team leader.

[govtraksam]

Re: Geithner Didn't Know He Had To Pay Taxes

Geithner along with virtually every high profile politician, political appointee, FED executive and senior FIRE economy executives are members of the Trilateral Commission. If you think that organization is interested in doing what is best for the United States of America you are very mistaken.

[Spartacus]

Re: Geithner Didn't Know He Had To Pay Taxes - ELITE

10 years is enough for a family to lose massive fortunes & go out of touch of contacts.

For children not to want to follow parents & move to the other coast to do other things, and let old contacts wither.

Geithner's family is probably connected, but it's not guaranteed by his grandfather being connected.

If your Grandfather was hanging around with Presidents - there is a VERY HIGH chance that there is enough family Money to keep you from being a working stiff and gets you access to jobs with the Government.

Would anyone else agree with this?

Or perhaps Mr Geithner got to be head of the New York Fed through his hard work, thorough knowledge of finance, economics, and the Tax code. ;-)

[Spartacus]

Re: Geithner Didn't Know He Had To Pay Taxes

More than you think

Geithner's been at the scene of the credit bubble crime for years and been a second-tier contributor to the whole mess; to think he's any more 'qualified' than Paulson, or will have any more success is nonsense.

there was a (I think) NY Times article that fingerpointed Geithner as the head of a working group studying how to deal with a CDS / Swap / Subprime meltdown.

I can't find the article at the moment, I think it was 2006.