Sen Grassley Declines To Make Personal Tax Returns Public
By Martin Vaughan, Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
Sen. Charles Grassley (R., Iowa) Friday refused a request from Dow Jones to
release his personal tax returns.
Grassley, the senior Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, has
criticized several Obama administration nominees who failed to pay taxes or to
pay them on time.
"Senator Grassley files the publicly available, extensive financial disclosure
report required of him as a senator," a Grassley spokeswoman said in response to
a request to review his tax returns. "If he's nominated and accepts a post for a
Finance Committee jurisdiction position in an administration, he'll abide by
committee rules and practice, including submitting his tax returns for review by
the chairman and ranking member," the spokeswoman said.
Grassley said Friday the Obama administration has "lowered the bar" for tax
compliance by federal officials, after committee staff inquiries this year
revealed taxes went unpaid or were paid late by a string of nominees.
"We do not need anyone so badly in the federal government that we allow them
to live by their own set of rules," Grassley said at a confirmation hearing for
Lael Brainard, who is up for Treasury undersecretary for international affairs.
Dow Jones also asked Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D., Mont.)
to release his personal tax returns. A spokesman for Baucus did not immediately
respond Friday evening.
Strict privacy laws safeguard individual tax information, and tax returns of
nominees who are subject to confirmation by the Finance panel aren't released to
the public. Instead, a select group of staffers have access to them for vetting
purposes.
In some cases--including this year with regard to former Sen. Tom Daschle (D.,
S. D.) and Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner--a bipartisan staff memorandum
detailing specific tax irregularities is released to the public. A five-page
staff memo released Wednesday revealed Brainard paid property taxes late,
questioned her claim of a home-office deduction, and detailed some glitches on
tax forms for domestic employees.
Sen. Kent Conrad (D., N.D.) came to Brainard's aid, saying she had "a
reputation for honesty and integrity." But Conrad said it was "troubling that
the staff found some discrepancies" in her answers to questions on her tax
history.
Grassley lashed out at the Obama White House, saying nominees during previous
administrations that had checkered tax histories often withdrew from
consideration. He said he is frustrated that nominees like Geithner and Brainard
have proceeded with support from Democrats, despite their documented tax
problems. "I'm not sure if it's worth our time, or our staffs time to be asking
these questions anymore," Grassley said.
-By Martin Vaughan, Dow Jones Newswires; 202-862-9244; martin.vaughan@
dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
11-20-092254ET
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