Rangel Rule

[JON]

I watched

a replay of some of the committe last night. I got the impression that Charlie amended and owed/paided for the open years, but maybe not going back. His answer always was I filed everything my accountant told to me to do when being asked have all returns been corrected. Now he is broke and unable to pay attorneys. This really gets worse even though it is probably over. Except for the House floor.

Money and power corrupt-probably not just Charlie in DC.

[joanmcq]

The other ethics violations are just as bad. If this was a case of not paying taxes on one small bit of income, I'd say it was overblown, except of course, for the fact of the committees he heads. But taken with all of the other violations, like the use of the rent-controlled apartments as campaign headquarters, makes this a small part of a general pattern of unethical practices. Maybe congress should be required to take ethics classes like we are!

[AZ-Tax]

Why stop with the interest and penalty exemptions

[QUOTE=WhiteOleander;72337]Congressman John Carter(R) of Texas wants to do away with interest and penalties for taxpayers who do not pay their taxes on time. He says since Charles Rangel did not pay any interest or penalties for underpaying his taxes, the same rule should extend to the American public.

Why stop there Congressman Carter, how about giving all taxpayers’ access to your Govt health care plan at the price you pay etc. If I am not going to be charged for interest and penalties for not paying my income taxes, why file them in the first place. No filing, no need for a tax preparers. There is a greater chance I will have a bullet train to ride next spring from Phx to Flagstaff then doing away with IRS interest and penalties. Just another politician talking the talk and not walking the walk thus wasting TP’s dollars

[gscpa]

We'd be unemployed!

Such a rule would be the end of our volunteer tax system. Who would pay taxes until they absolutely had to if there was no incentive (interest and penalties) to do otherwise?

Whenever something like this happens, though, it makes people who do pay their taxes in full and on time feel like real chumps. It happened when all those dependency exemptions disappeared when Social Security numbers were first required - the IRS just looked the other way. It happened again this summer when Gulf businesses found they couldn't apply to BP for oil spill compensation because they've been running a "cash" business. The IRS promised not to come after them.

So then the IRS comes after us if we don't use 'due diligence'. I'm a chump, how about you?