Charles Rangel’s tax problems
A new set of potential problems in Rep. Charles Rangel’s financial papers has prompted the tax-writing lawmaker to hire a forensic accounting expert to try to unravel the mess.
Rangel, chairman of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee, is already the subject of ethics committee investigations on several fronts, including unreported income and unpaid taxes on his beach house in the Dominican Republic.
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Among the new discrepancies:
- Rangel’s papers over the past 10 years show no reference to the sale of a home he once owned on Colorado Avenue in Washington.
- The details of a property bought in Sunny Isles, Fla., are bewildering at best. The stated value changes significantly from year to year, and even page to page, from $50,000 to $100,000 all the way up to $500,000.
- Some of the entries for investment funds fluctuate strangely, suggesting that the person either didn’t have accurate information or didn’t fill out the paperwork correctly.
The NY Times is calling on Rangel to step aside as chair of the Ways and Means Committee while he is being investigated. Their plea isn’t as noble as it might seem at first blush. The phrasing they use suggests they want to see Rangel step aside so that their preferred party isn’t tainted by his possible ethical lapses:
His temporary yielding of the gavel is an urgent necessity for a Democratic Congress elected two years ago on promises of an ethical housecleaning.
To be fair, the paper has worked hard to help out the Democrats. It would be a pity to see Rangel spoil their investment.
The way I see it there are three conclusions one could draw from this situation (two and three go hand in hand):
- Rangel is a criminal who intentionally sought to avoid paying taxes he legally owed. I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt and assume this is not the case.
- He is so hopelessly ignorant of his own personal and business finances that it is hard to believe he has the aptitude to be the chief tax author in our Congress.
- This is a sign that the tax code is too complex. This is what both I and the Wall Street Journal believe (although I’m not discounting #2). If the most senior member of Congress in charge of taxation gets confused – habitually confused it appears – then how can you and I be expected to comply with the onerous federal tax code?
Maybe Rangel should consider the FairTax in order to simply federal taxes. I would hate to see him get ensnared in any more tax avoidance scandals.
I would be remiss in failing to remind north Alabama voters about Rangel’s ties to the Tennessee Valley. Parker Griffith, the Democrat’s candidate for Congress, has taken thousands of dollars from Rangel.
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