Tax Problems

First, let me admit that I really haven't read a whole lot about the tax problems of Mr. Geithner, Mr. Daschle and Ms. Killefer. With that said I have to wonder just how important these tax problems are and I also wonder whether we should expect nominees to be tax experts. This past weekend I completed (and passed, thank God) the IRS basic tax test that must be taken in order to work as a volunteer tax preparer. This test covered pretty easy stuff as most of the folks I help are poor and/or hispanic and their tax issues aren't complex but I still missed three questions out of 30. Did I mention that I'm a CPA (although not a tax accountant) and I have an MBA from a reputable university? Certain members of congress stated that as the "chief tax collector" for the Treasury, Mr. Geithner should have known that he didn't prepare his taxes correctly. That statement, in my opinion, is just BS. Geithner's a finance whiz, not a tax whiz; the two don't go hand-in-hand.

From what I've heard Mr. Daschle's error was in not reporting free car services as income. Since the IRS isn't prosecuting him I guess this wasn't intentional. Yesterday on NPR someone characterized Mr. Daschle as being one of the most informed people in the country with respect to health care issues and now, because he screwed up his taxes, we won't have him in the cabinet.

Perhaps every Senator who sits in judgment of cabinet nominees should have to pass some sort of tax test. Then, and only then, would they be ready to cast the first stone.