Pritzker Understated Income by $80 Million on.wsj.com/186tHVK via @wsj – Is some of this from #offshore sources?
— U.S. Citizen Abroad (@USCitizenAbroad) May 25, 2013
“………… after initially underreporting her income by nearly $80 million.
Her attorney, who filed the amendment with the Office of Government Ethics, blamed the omission on a “clerical error.”…………….
Right. And we have to sweat over a dollar in our local account if our total aggregate exceeds the FBAR threshold on any single day in a year? And a tiny local chequing and savings account held within walking distance of my residence in Canada might have been subject to a 50% penalty if it was deemed a willful omission?
But a buddy of Obama and the Democrats can even be considered for a government post like that?
I can’t put down here what I really want to say about this. Where is all the hypocritical BS about ‘offshore accounts’ and ‘foreign trusts’ etc. now?
Canadian duals with disabilities are taxed on meagre RDSPs by the IRS, but US government cronies can forget to report tens of thousands, or millions, and that is okay? The Treasury Secretary Geithner can underpay tax that is owed, and misreport income, but still trumpet that we’re the cause of the ‘tax gap’?
What scale of tax misbehaviour would it take to get some of those US homelanders with money and political connections actually treated the way that the IRS and Treasury treats all of us living legal lives outside the US – who have already paid our home government revenue agencies in full.
Exactly how egregious would US homelander offences have to be for those politically connected in order to actually face some kind of serious repercussions.?
‘Canadian grandmas’ spent legal Canadian funds to file US tax returns and FBARs in order to prove that they owed nothing, but US homelanders and Obama cronies ‘forget’ to report?
A perspective from outside the Homeland looking in
By nominating Penny Pritzker for Commerce Secretary, President Obama has demonstrated his total contempt for the people of America. Penny Pritzker is a long time fund raiser for the president. The Pritzker nomination is nothing but an effort to reward a long time fundraiser. In addition, we learn that Ms. Pritkker failed to report 80 million of income in 2012. Shades of First Tax Cheat Geithner! Although she has rectified the situation, the fact is that there was a failure to report significant income. US citizens abroad are threatened daily for not being tax compliant. Looks very much like in “Obama space” – the area between Obama’s ears – there is a distinction between rules that apply to ordinary Americans and wealthy donors to Obama.
Am I just imagining this? Weren’t taxes a big issue in the presidential election? Wasn’t Obama suggesting – without a shred of evidence – the Mitt Romney was hiding money offshore? Wasn’t he suggesting that Mitt Ronney wasn’t paying his fair share? My God – the stench of Obama hypocrisy is unbearable!
Last I heard, the Obama’s IRS was terrorizing US citizens abroad over unfiled FBARs and the like. Has Penny Pritzker filed any FBARs that she is required to file? Of course that wouldn’t matter, would it. US citizens abroad have had to deal with FBAR. It’s time that Obama cronies have a meeting with Mr. FBAR himself.
Speaking of the IRS scandal, the trail is getting closer and closer to the White House. The Economist is reporting that 42% of Americans believe that the IRS targeted the Tea Party at the direction of the Obama administration. Some are speculating that this IRS scandal will sink Obama. Of course, in the same way that Shulman was responsible for the IRS. The Treasury Secretary is responsible for Shulman. And yes, the president is responsible for Treasury. That in and of itself, is reason to give most presidents concern. What is NOT YET clear are the questions of:
1. What did Obama know about the IRS profiling of Obama’s political enemies?; and
2. When did he know it?
As the trail gets closer and closer to the White House. Look for the White House to throw Mr. Shulman under the bus. But hey, Shulman was appointed by a Republican president. That makes him expendable while the most offensive occupant of the White House in U.S. history, attempts to save himself.
Prediction: The Obama administration is going down over this! Sit back for some summer fun.
Well, I wouldn’t be so sure about the prediction. 🙂 That might be expressed more as a wish. I would predict, that it won’t happen any more than Clinton went down over his mistress.
Unbelievable. Makes Timmy Tax Cheat look like a schoolboy. I still don’t quite get why he seems outside the IRS scandal. Is it simply because Wolin was directly over Shulman?
@Just Me
I think you got that a bit backwards about Clinton… 😉
This administration treats accounts of dual-citizens in the nation they have been living most of their lives and choose to die, no differently than the offshore bank accounts of drug-traffickers or money laundress living in the USA. Wake up America! The USA is now the new USSR.
One can get away with murder, if he is one of the biggest fund raisers from Chicago. Her offshore income was over US$50 million while income from US sources was just US$30 million (before declaring the US$80 million).
Considering what is happening with tax exempt groups, it is not surprising, if she got a tip from administration that IRS found the US$80 million error and advices her to correct it.
@Deckard1138
LOL I should have chose my words better!
It is astonishing and Satya if you can please post your above comment broadly and widely. It is a question and comment the main media and Senator Rand Paul and the House Ways and Means should be aware of! Thank you.
She underestimated by $80mil! Gosh, what does she do to earn that sort of money in the first place?
Nobledreamer. he is outside the scandal b/c of the way info flows into the WH. Nothing comes to him directly. It’s always filtered. Plausible deniability. But I have read – more than once – that he isn’t big on briefings and meetings. He skips them and his staff deal with a lot of the work that he really should be doing or at least overseeing.
It’s not a surprise that this new commerce director also “avoids” compliance ala Timmy and countless others. They all belong to the same financial club. Or as George Carlin once put it , “govt is a big club and you (American people) aren’t in it”.
There are two Americas. One for the rich and one of the rest of us and even the one we are in has levels.
Pritzker is just one of the many who jump into govt positions and back to financial house jobs like Timmy and Lew and a bunch of other Goldman Sachs players. It’s a joke but one that apparently goes over the heads of most Americans. But they are are naive at best or self collaborators at worst for not raising any alarms about this, if they are even paying attention to it at all.
The economy is once again pretending to recover and that’s all that anyone down there can see. If things were to go to shit again, they’d be howling for “justice”, but it wouldn’t be Obama’s head they’d be after. He is the first black POTUS. No way will they ever admit they’ve made a mistake. Just won’t happen. Look at the praise he is getting for his double speak security speech last week. He promised them next to no change in the status quo in the forseeable future and they are ready to nominate him for another Nobel Peace Prize. So don’t get your hopes up on the IRS. Goats will be sacrificed and then given jobs at Goldman’s for taking it for the team and then back to business as usual. Americans none with wiser.
@Just Me
The only that that Obama and Clinton have in common is that they were/are Democrat presidents.
Clinton, regardless of the direction of his “Mrissiterial Activity” was simply entertainment value for Americans. There was nothing about his personal life that affected the US government. But, he did provide a great reality TV show.
Obama’s “alleged indiscretions” go right to the heart of American democracy. Take a look at this article – you will see more and more of them:
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/may/24/an-enormous-abuse-of-irs-power/
(The Washington Times is a conservative paper, but they are allowed to participate too.)
The “Clinton Chronicles” reminded people of JFK – a nice time in America.
The “Obama Adventures” remind people of the Nixon Watergate scandal.
I wouldn’t be too quick to prejudge the direction of this will take.
The head of the country and the head of the IRS have 100+ meetings at the White House and nobody knows nuthin?
@USCitizenAbroad
I am just not in the prediction business anymore when it comes to the twist and turns of politics. I was predicting impeachment of Clinton, as in actual removal from office, and didn’t happen. For Obama, Personal popularity, 98% black support, and the fact that the Republicans don’t have the stomach for it with their own internal bickering about the direction of their party, just makes me think impeachment is unlikely.
Regarding the Washington Times article. I saw that headline yesterday, but did not read it closely. I think it is a bit hyperbolic about an “enemies list”. I certainly don’t doubt IRS malfeasance, but does it go to the level of a Nixon name specific enemies list? Well I think not, and for America’s sake, I hope not, but time will tell. It does raise some questions and provides a good reason for more investigation. A so called ‘enemies list’ doesn’t really have to go to the Nixon level, to still have disturbing consequences down the bureaucratic chain.
Attitude from the top matters, and a tone of “get them” like with the offshore jihad, does have repercussions not necessarily intended, which gets to the core issue of ‘Responsibility’ that the likes of Shulman refuses to accept.
If you didn’t see that retort to Shulman by Rep Duckworth, it is worth watching again. http://cs.pn/12QPzQg
That meeting with Colleen Kelley certainly does raise questions about the discussions and timing, I will give you that. But correlation does not equal causation, as we know. I hope she receives a subpoena, and knowing what was discussed would be interesting, although she will take the 5th, I am sure.
So, the question remains, do the Moderate Republicans have the stomach and political will for impeachment action given their public spates with the Tparty members like whacko birds Cruz and Rand Paul? Is there enough cohesion between the factions to pull that off?
The Republicans have a basic problem with attacking ‘O’ this the issue of abuse of Executive power or framing it this way, as they have their own recent history of ‘W” and “N” abuse of power which Obama has just built on. Hard to attack without looking totally hypocritical, not that politicians worry much about that, but certainly the media would strongly point that out and be sympathetic to ‘O’ along with a majority of the public .
As I see it, that is just the way it is. But then, what do I really know. I could be totally wrong. LOL
But speaking of predictions, Erza Klien is pretty bright and savvy about the direction of politics and why something will or will not happen. He has a good commentary on why he thinks the scandal will not lead to reform, all due to partisan politics. Worth a read. As I said in a tweet, dammit, he might be right.
http://bloom.bg/18hDRmA
Anyway, back to your prediction. You are bold, I will give you that, and time will tell if you are right. If you are, hats off to you! Me, I am horrible at predicting. 🙂
@bubblebustin
Well, the first one that came to mind by Shulman, was the Easter Egg roll.
Rand Paul fertilizes the seeds:
http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/302013-rand-paul-irs-scandal-threatens-obamas-ability-to-lead
This is what I mean about Republican hypocrisy… Too easy to point it out and make fun of it. 🙂
http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/wed-may-22-2013/nooney-tunes
Wonder if she disclosed or was questioned about the $35 million she raised for Obamas post presidential house in Hawaii.
http://hillbuzz.org/who-is-funding-the-purchase-of-the-35-million-beachfront-hawaiian-estate-for-barack-and-michelle-obama-to-move-into-come-january-2013-2013
As for predictions, saw this in the CAnada Free Press…
http://canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/55480
Obama’s not going anywhere.
Yet, the GOP membership is focusing all of its investigatory power on his administration. In particular, most congressional Republicans seem to view the IRS scandal as a way to target the Obama White House. Their zeal is admirable, but misguided. Not only will an Obama-centric approach fail, it misses the larger point. The IRS scandal isn’t really about Obama – it’s about government.
Yes, the President is complicit. Of course he is. No sane person can look at the last month of scandals and believe the company line. If you honestly think Obama “learned about all of this in the papers,” you’ve got a screw loose.
He deserves to be removed from office, or forced to resign in disgrace. It just isn’t going to happen.
Even if it did, the real problem wouldn’t have been solved. There are thousands of statists out there who believe exactly what Obama believes. They despise the Constitution, they hate the concept of a truly limited government, and they will not hesitate to violate the law if it means an expansion of federal power. These people exist on both sides of the aisle and, once Obama is gone, another such creature would simply step up to take his place.
So, conservatives need to force the GOP to refocus.
I am taking this opportunity to ‘whine’ – I just received my US tax returns from my Big 5 accountant (I can’t possibly do them myself way way too complex). Filing Married Separate (the worst way to go btw) my US tax return is 109 pages long. My spouse tax return (non working ‘housewife’) US tax return is 35 pages long and she owes no US tax. The combined return preparation cost me days of working on the data and thousands of US dollars to the Big 5 firm. I have not lived in the US since 1997. This is madness and a complete waste of money and resources.
@Steve Klaus
109 pages is not a long tax return for an expat. I know many who have longer returns. Also, one more penalty on marriage.
I agree with your sentiment and feel your pain, really feel your pain! Go have yourself a beer or two – and pretend (since I don’t know you) that it is on me!
I’m happy to report that our joint return’s preparation fees actually cost less than they did last year, but still an absolute waste of money to owe $20 in tax between the two of us!