Sarah Palin has recently revisited the attack of stupidity, once again asserting the tenuous, dubious, and practically inarguable accusation of close ties between Barack Obama and former Weather Underground member, Bill Ayers. While her attack is not well based in evidence, this one is, and the evidence was provided by Sarah Palin herself. The Palins are tax cheats, defrauding the government and the people.
"According to an accompanying 2007 personal financial disclosure report, Palin's "income" as governor of Alaska was $196,531.50, well above the $107,987.00 that was noted on her W2 form from that same year." - Sam Stein, Huffington Post
http://www. huffingtonpost. com/2008/10/03/palins-tax-return-mystery_n_131791. html
Two years running, Sarah Palin has reported less than 2/3 of her known income, not adjusted; how does she do that? She has also failed to even list her admittedly questionable and most certainly taxable family per diem payments. And, on that income she has paid roughly 12 and 14 percent in income taxes- effectively paying in between the lowest brackets, designated for people with incomes between $8,000 and $32,000; how does she do that? As I've written before, those earning over $250,000/year, which qualifies Sarah and her husband, should be assessed at a higher rate because, as this example clearly indicates, they find ways around paying what they owe.
There are several reports on all of this, and many conflict, especially where it comes to the matter of pay for the Governor of Alaska. The latest data I could find, on the State website, were from 2001 and indicate the Governor’s pay set at just over $88,000 per annum. Surely there has been a pay raise since. However, Ms. Palin’s financial disclosure report gives her Governor’s pay at $196,000 for 2007, although she paid taxes on only $108,000. Interestingly, in what may well be evidence of tax dodging, her disclosure lists her governorship as starting in January 2006, when in fact, she did not take office until December of 2006. All sources on the matter save for Pain and the McCain campaign say unequivocably that her per diem payments, not being reimbursements but up-front payments, qualify for income tax assessment.
Furthermore, there seems to be considerable doubt about the legitimacy of Todd Palin’s share of the tax filings, as in one report his fishing profited over $23,000, while another claims only $10,000, and a third puts the number at $40,000. His 2007 work for BP brought in roughly $43,500, although in 2006 he earned $102,700(WTF?) for the same job, and this is as close to legitimate as the Palins’ tax numbers get. His snowmobile racing is listed as a business enterprise, although federal law requires a hobby to be profitable at least two years out of five to qualify as a business; Todd has only recorded financial losses in snowmobile racing. Todd Palin’s list of snowmobiling expenses includes several questionable items. One is “sponsorship appreciation”. What? Wait a minute, sponsors pay the sponsored, not the other way around.
All the same, allowing for what the Palin’s have released and giving them the greatest benefit of the doubt, they should have paid taxes on no less than $141,500, less mortgage interest (they have reported none). This would further keep them in a higher tax bracket than 15%, even with four children.
The following was sent to me and gave me further impetus to investigate the apparent, and now obvious, fraud of the Pain tax returns and financial disclosures. The numbers do not add up.
Palin tax returns for 2006 and 2007 released By RICHARD T. PIENCIAK – 2 hours ago ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Sarah and Todd Palin underpaid their estimated taxes with an April extension and could owe interest, according to an Associated Press analysis of the couple's 2007 federal tax returns released Friday by the McCain campaign. On an undated extension form filed with a $2,000 check dated April 11, the Palins claimed an estimated tax liability of $22,721 and total withholding payments of $20,721. The attached check meant the couple believed they had paid all of their taxes for 2007, as required. However, when they filed their taxes last month, dated Sept. 3, their tax liability turned out to be $24,738 — meaning they owed an additional $2,017. IRS rules require that when a taxpayer files for an extension in April, all outstanding taxes must be paid at that time. When asked if the Palins had paid any interest or penalties, and if so, how much, Maria Comella, McCain-Palin spokeswoman said the couple had paid "at least $2,017," and that the campaign was researching if an additional payment had been made. "In April, they made a reasonable estimate of what they would owe, and they underpaid," she added. The documents released Friday by the McCain campaign contained a copy of the $2,000 check sent with the April extension, but there was no copy of any check that might have been sent when the tax return was ultimately filed on Sept. 3. "They're going to be billed the interest," said Sheldon Cohen, former IRS commissioner under the Johnson administration. He said the Palins would likely avoid any penalties because their tax payments as of April for last year were higher than all payments made the prior year. "If they constantly underpaid, that would be another story." Overall, the 2007 return shows that last year the couple had a gross adjusted income of $166,080 and paid $24,738 in taxes — about a 15 percent rate after deductions. In 2006, the records show, the Palins earned $127,869 as adjusted gross income, with taxes paid listed at $11,944 — less than a 10 percent rate. On federal financial disclosure forms, also released Friday, Palin and her husband listed assets worth from $960,000 to $2.3 million. Because the values of assets are reported in broad ranges, it's not possible to calculate an exact value for their holdings. Like many Americans, their most valuable asset is their home in Wasilla, valued at between $500,000 and $1 million. According to the Matanuska-Susitna Borough, the land and structure at the Wasilla property is appraised at $552,100. Their next most valuable asset is a fishing leasehold on the Nushagak River, worth between $100,000 and $250,000. Todd Palin's fishing business was valued at between $50,000 and $100,000, and his snowmobile racing enterprise was put at $15,000 to $50,000. Todd Palin also has a retirement account worth between $50,000 and $100,000, and he owns a variety of mutual funds in a 401(k) retirement plan through his employer, the oil company BP. Sara Palin also has retirement accounts from the state of Alaska and the town of Wasilla, where she was once mayor, valued at a total of $115,000 to $250,000. The Palins also own shares of two land parcels worth a combined $51,000 to $115,000. On their tax returns, the Palins said they donated $8,105 to charity over the two years. The bulk of the donations came in "gifts by cash or check" — $4,250 in 2006 and $2,500 last year. For each year, the cash donations were identified only as "various." Comella said the Palins gave the money to "local churches." She would not elaborate. The Palins made noncash charitable contributions, claiming "thrift store value" of $825 for a Dec. 31, 2007, donation to the Salvation Army of Wasilla.
Thank you, Joyce.
So they both under-reported and underpaid, effectively defrauding the government and robbing the people. Based on the information provided, the Palin's under-reported their earnings (her pay as governor is, alone, $196,000 according to her financial disclosure) and completely failed to report the taxable income of the per diem payments and somehow managed, even then, at just over $100,000, to pay little more than half the rate of what the average American making less than $50,000 is required. Smells like rotting moose carcass to me.
Additional sources for all of this include the Associated Press, AFP, Politico, the IRS, and numerous other sites to include comments by tax attorneys and other professionals.
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