Is This a Joke?

Conn Carroll / March 04, 2009

The AP reports: “President Barack Obama’s Treasury secretary says the administration will unveil a series of rules and measures in the coming months to limit the ability of international companies to avoid U.S. taxes. ”

We only ask because:

• January 7, 2009: “But even an experienced financial expert like [Nancy] Killefer is susceptible to tax errors: Four years ago, the District of Columbia slapped a $946 tax lien on her home for a few months until she paid back unemployment compensation tax for her personal employees.
• January 30, 2009: “Former Sen. Tom Daschle, tapped by President Obama to lead his healthcare reform campaign, failed to pay more than $128,000 in taxes in the three years before Obama nominated him in December to head the Department of Health and Human Services.”
• February 6, 2009: “Hilda Solis, Labor nominee, faces tax questions. A Senate committee’s vote on her confirmation is delayed after it learns her husband had $6,400 in unresolved tax liens filed against his business.”
• March 3, 2009: “The Senate Finance Committee announced Monday that Ron Kirk, nominee for trade representative, owes roughly $10,000 in taxes from 2005, 2006 and 2007.”

And of course the granddaddy of them all, chief tax collector, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner: (more…)