Can someone please explain to me why there’s another tax issue that is now causing the new administration’s Chief Performance Officer to resign?
Apparently, Nancy Killefer is stepping aside as her failure to pay unemployment taxes for household help has come to light. I’m just shaking my head over the fact that there can still be, after the whole Kimba Wood/Zoe Baird story, people who have worked at senior levels in the government (Killefer worked for the Treasury Department in the Clinton administration) who think tax issues won’t come back to bite them. As Chief Performance Officer, Killefer was supposed to crack down on waste and oversee the creation of a more efficient government.
In a different moment, this probably wouldn’t be an issue. But after President Obama declared a zer-tolerance policy on ehitcs issues, it feels like unpaid taces are the problem du jour of the new Obama administration. Here’s the letter Killefer sent to the president today:
I recognize that your agenda and the duties facing your Chief Performance Officer are urgent. I have also come to realize in the current environment that my personal tax issue of D.C. Unemployment tax could be used to create exactly the kind of distraction and delay those duties must avoid. Because of this I must reluctantly ask you to withdraw my name from consideration. I am deeply honored to have been selected by you and you have my deep appreciation for your confidence in me. You have my heartfelt support and best wishes in all your endeavors.
I’m all for the crack down on ethics that President Obama wants. But if that’s the road you’re going to go down, then the vetting process needs to be more precise. Maybe just ask if there are any outstanding tax issues? Anything you’ve forgotten to pay? How about household help? Any
‘in-kind’ compensation that maybe you haven’t reported?
I did pretty well in my Federal Income Tax class in law school, but you don’t even need that background to know that these are the kinds of queries that need to be made when vetting a candidate if you don’t want all the kind of press the GOP is going to be all over.
This does not bode well for Tom Daschle.
BREAKING NEWS: Hours after posting this, Daschle announced he was withdrawing his name from consideration for Secretary of Health and Human Services. While this is a shame in the sense that Daschle has always been considered a man of integrity, I really have to wonder what happens to people like Daschle, Killefer and Timothy Geithner — people who are more than savvy enough to know that tax problems will haunt you — seem to disregard the possible consequences.
February 3rd, 2009 at 1:47 pm
“people who are more than savvy enough to know that tax problems will haunt you — seem to disregard the possible consequences.”
I’ve been wondering this too. And I have gone further down that path to wonder WHO can possibly get the positions that are now available that is clean enough.
This is going to be tough I think. Glad I’m not the President who must be very frustrated at this point.
February 3rd, 2009 at 3:59 pm
This is heartbreaking for me.
Healthcare is something I am so passionate about and had real hopes that we’d be able to do something good.
Betchya’ Judd Gregg flies through with no problems at all. *smirk*
February 3rd, 2009 at 3:59 pm
Umm – geez they have aides and people for everything else. Why don’t they have a decent CPA for their taxes? This is soooo stupid!
February 3rd, 2009 at 4:38 pm
I nominate myself for HHS. I’ve had my tax-prep person for years and she’s very competent. And I can’t afford any household help.
Seriously: Who the heck is on the vetting committee…Donald Duck?
February 3rd, 2009 at 5:04 pm
More examples of the great divide. People who reach a certain level of wealth/power seem to think that they are not required to do the same thing that the “little people” are expected to without question. And since many people (like Geinther) are still rewarded despite having broken very basic rules, I don’t think we are likely to see an end to it soon.
February 3rd, 2009 at 8:07 pm
Yankee and I were discussing the accountant issue at dinner tonight. I can barely add 2+2, but I do know that if you hire an employee, you pay taxes on s/he, and if somebody gives you something in exchange for something else, you pay taxes on it. Duh!
February 4th, 2009 at 10:58 pm
Even if they do their own taxes, Turbo Tax does a great job of pointing out stuff you should be paying taxes on.
And if they have an accountant who purposely lets them get away with not paying, that accountant should be stripped of their license.
There really is no excuse for public figures to think they can get away with this stuff. You can bet we wouldn’t if we didn’t pay our taxes.
February 5th, 2009 at 12:38 pm
I just don’t understand how there is a person with a prayer of higher office who doesn’t know by now that they have to pay employment taxes for their help.
We’ve been through this before, as you point out.
I know this, but I don’t have enough money to afford household help (unless you count bribing my kids to help around the house.)
February 6th, 2009 at 12:19 am
Interestingly the people I know who have the most sympathy are tax accountants…they know how complicated it can be