Big Dogs Weblog

Clinton Taxes: How to Abuse the System

by Big Dog on Apr 6, 2008 at 15:46 Political

The Clintons have finally released their tax returns after many months of promises. The tax returns show that the Clintons made 109 million dollars since Bill left office and paid nearly 34 million in federal taxes on that money, or around 31%. That is the tax rate for the highest earners but Hilary said that she did not need the Bush tax cuts and that the cuts only helped wealthy people, such as she and her hubby.

The reality is, gaming the system is what made the Clinton tax burden lower. Bill and Hillary donated about 10 million to charity. Before any Clinton lovers tell me ow generous they are it is important to note that the 10 million dollars donated went to a family foundation run by the Clintons. They gave money to their charity and then took the tax write off for it. Additionally, they have only dispersed about half of that money and most of that took place last year when Hilary announced she was running for the presidency.

The returns also show that Bill Clinton made around 52 million dollars for speeches. Hillary told us in a February 2008 speech:

Speeches don’t put food on the table. Speeches don’t fill up your tank. Speeches don’t fill your prescriptions. “My opponent makes speeches. I offer solutions. It’s one thing to get people excited. I want to empower you.” Boston Globe

It would appear that if you are Bill Clinton speeches put food on the table, fill up the tank, and provide enough money to buy prescriptions for a lot of people. Hillary might offer solutions while Obama makes speeches but Bill makes speeches that provide a solution to the Clinton family finances. I don’t think it is wrong to get paid to talk (and this might be why Obama wants to be president) but it rings hollow for her to tell us that speeches don’t pay when they seem to pay handsomely for her family.

The Clintons have filed for an extension for their 2007 return. This is a ploy to keep the returns out of the equation until after the rest of the primaries and maybe even the convention. They have accountants who could prepare the returns so it is likely that there are entries that would not be received favorably, like some of Bill’s overseas dealings. I am sure that even though the Clintons released them late on a Friday that people will pour over them to look for problems. I would like to see them compared to her OGE 450 and see if what she reported in her financial disclosure squares up with what she reported to the IRS.

It would also be interesting to see what deductions they have besides the charity. About 18 million dollars are not accounted for and the Clintons only released a summary, not their complete returns. With their history of deception and outright lies I am sure they are hiding something.

Hillary claims to understand the small guy and she talks about how she will fix the economy and tax the rich. She and Bill claim they never needed tax cuts and don’t want them.

They don’t need them. Rich people benefit by starting charitable foundations and funneling their money into them. Rich people invest in non taxable items so they get to keep all their money. Rich people can afford accountants and tax lawyers that can help them keep most of what they make.

Unfortunately, rich liberal politicians work just as hard to keep as much of their money as possible as they do to take more from the rest of us. The list is not confined to the Clintons. All of them work hard to keep what they make and work just as hard to take from the rest of us.

If they really thought they paid too little they would not set up shelters. They would also donate money to the treasury which gladly accepts donations to pay off the debt.

I am willing to bet that no one will find a donation to the treasury listed anywhere on those released tax returns.

Sources:
New York Times
Politico