WASHINGTON — Timothy Geithner didn’t pay Social Security and Medicare taxes for several years while he worked for the International Monetary Fund, and he employed an immigrant housekeeper who briefly lacked proper work papers. Those issues, and a series of other tax matters, scuttled a tentatively scheduled confirmation hearing Tuesday for Mr. Geithner as Treasury secretary, Senate Finance Committee aides said. The tax matters were instead the subject of a closed-door meeting between the nominee, currently president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, and members of the Senate Finance panel, in whose hands his confirmation lies.
Several senators said after the meeting that they intended to remain supporters of Mr. Geithner, who has playing a central role in tackling the financial crisis. Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus (D., Mont.) called the issue serious, but not disqualifying. “I still support him,” said Sen. Orrin Hatch (R., Utah) as he emerged from the meeting. “He’s a very competent guy.”
Sen. Charles E. Grassley of Iowa, the committee’s senior Republican, didn’t give Mr. Geithner a pass. “It’s serious, and whether or not it’s disqualifying is to be determined,” Mr. Grassley said after the meeting. Obama aides said they didn’t think these issues would present a problem, given what they characterized as the minor nature of the infractions and the gravity of the role Mr. Geithner has been nominated to take.
The tax issue relates to Mr. Geithner’s work for the International Monetary Fund between 2001 and 2004. As an American citizen working for the IMF, Mr. Geithner was technically considered self-employed and was required to pay Social Security and Medicare taxes for himself as both an employer and an employee. In 2006, the IRS audited Mr. Geithner’s 2003 and 2004 taxes and concluded he owed taxes and interest totaling $17,230, according to documents released by the Senate Finance Committee. The IRS waived the related penalties.
I think the issue here is not the relatively small amount of taxes owed, around $34,000.00, but the fact that the future Secretary of the Treasury didn’t know he had to pay Social Security and Medicare while being self employed. Is anybody buying this? I took some bad advice from an accountant years ago when I was working outside the US for the same issue. You can bet they didn’t forgive any of it.
It’s magic.
A tax cheat as head of the Treasury/IRS? Isn’t that special.
Between Bill Richardson, Eric Holder, and this guy, does Obama have a vetting problem? Then you throw in Hillary who should be in jail.
Next, a felon for AG.
Change you can believe in, at least if you follow the P.T. Barnum philosophy.
Once, in another life, when I worked for the Dept of Treasury, we received lectures to be very careful of ‘even the appearance’ of impropriety in our actions (personal or professional).
But that’s alright, clearly in the past 12 – 20 years, we’ve moved past all of that.
I see things are getting nicely off on the wrong foot. Way to set the tone for Change Nobody is Going to Frickin’ Believe.
Perfect man for the job then!
Stolen from another blog, where some details were provided:
Here is the deal: back in the early part of this decade, Geithner worked for the International Monetary Fund. As an international organization, they don’t withold Social Security and Medicare taxes from their American employees’ payrolls. Instead, they pay those employees an extra 15% with the understanding that the money will go to self-employment tax and not to, whatever, Cristal and hookers.
This dummy Geithner did not pay his self-employment tax for four years because apparently his accountant said he didn’t have to. (?!?)
So then when he got audited in 2006, he wound up having to pay back taxes for 2003 and 2004, which he paid. But a three-year statute of limitations prevented the IRS from auditing him for the years 2001 and 2002, which he also owed back taxes on. So what did he do, this nationally prominent government money guy who probably had some inkling that he might some day might want to be even more nationally prominent in the world of finance? He said, “Enh, all right, I’ll just keep the change.”
Not until he was being vetted by the Obama transition team did he finally decide to produce the remaining $26,000. This is why he is a lamer.
Change you can believe in.
I really don’t see a big deal in any of this. You are all very angry bitter men…
…and McCain didn’t vet ‘Hottie’ adequately???
I thought the only requirement for Treasury Secretary is that he used to work for Goldman-Sachs. Or plans to work there after draining the Treasury.
And BTW, any of you who claim you’d ever pay money to the IRS after the statute of limitations is past, you’re f-ing lying.
This guy had better be freaking good if Obama went with him after his people veted him and found the problem.
Nobody mentioned the hired help and I can see that as being something that could slip up on you. She had a green card when she was hired.
The other side of it is as long as she was getting paid for doing an honest days work I don’t actually care personally. I only get upset if they were doing something a citizen would be arrested for doing.
Sorry if that offends others.
I do think we need to give more green cards to people from locations other than Mexico and more green cards to Mexicans.
I prefer to have people here legally working on their citizenship rather than illegally.
What’s this about a statute of limitations? Can the little people use that, or just IMF suits?
The main problem is that he was Paulson’s right hand man and was involved in the decision to let Lehman fail which triggered this whole mess. Like I’ve heard several financial pundits say, why should anyone listen to these guys when their track record is so dismal? The facade of the banking and insurance sectors being “AOK” after TARP aid was lifted today. That is as it should be since the toxic assets are still there somewhere and will only become more numerous as the economy continues to tank leading to more unemployment, more foreclosures, more delinquent credit card payments, etc., etc., etc. A downward spiral until the stimulus money hits the streets. By then, it may not be enough.
#17, It’s a popular misconception that letting Lehman fail is what triggered this whole mess. What triggered this whole mess was the unwinding of the credit bubble. It was going to explode no matter what anyone did. You can explode a bubble slowly.
Check out this guy’s history and tell me he’s not a financial institutions insider. Well, if you’re going for change, it’s not a good idea to look for someone who’s been part of the problem all his life!
same as it ever was….
And I thought Obama was a political newbie. Looks like he already understands how to hire the crooks.
Hmmm…he’s from the IMF which makes him an EHM…just keep that on the DL. I like my conspiracies served with a side of Curry. HAR!
Huh?
I thought this story got yanked!?
looks like somebody in the news corp didn’t get their payola check…
gotta feel sorry for obama, he’s not even in the
whitehouse yet and already his puppet masters are treating him like a two bit rag doll..
i wonder if there is *anyone* in his staff that he actually had a say in picking..
the fact that this guy cut his teeth working for Mr. Evil himself, Kissinger, sets off major alarm bells..let alone his positions CFR, and IMF.
-i cannot believe a shill for JP Morgan, Goldman&Sachs and the Blackstone Group gets singing praise from the media elite..
the conflicts of interest this guy represents
are insane..
he rivals obama for puppet of the year award.
i would hazard a $1 bet that Geithner was grown in a petri dish using the combined DNA
of all the above to do their bidding…
sadly with clout of the crooks mentioned above, he will get a “walk” on the tax issue and be “installed” nonetheless.
i feel realy bad for obama’s kids..no doubt, they will be used as leverage to make sure obama does everything is masters tell him to do..
yup..change you can count on to be nothing of what you hoped for..
-s
I held my nose and went to FoxNews. This ‘story’ is neither in their top news nor most read. Still, a nice Dvorak bone to the still angry for losing republicans in here.
So what’s the observation here.
If you’re an unemployed Republican or on the verge, you want this guy. He is well received by both party’s and clearly Wall Street – given the market response to his announcement.
If you’re an employed Republican, you would rather get to the old, stale politics seen here despite the economy burning down. So what’s new?
Conclusion: … BORING, nobody cares, you lost so STFU , Get a life, your whine is so 2008,….
Dallas…I listened to Fox on the way in to work this morning, and those dumbasses didn’t have the facts on this story right, drooled at the possibilities for material as the days go by, and finally complained about the MSM regarding the media hullabaloo over GWB’s 2nd inauguration costs as opposed to the silence over Obama’s. Gee, ya think the re-inauguration of a guy barely elected compares with next Tuesday? wow.
The people on that show are so stupid it’s hardly entertaining anymore. Their viewpoint I can understand, but their blatant myopia is amazing.
They lib apologists are REALLY having to stretch to give Omama a pass on this one. Funny to watch them be as lame as the Bush apologists.
While mistakes happen, and people should not be punished forever for them, he should have paid the penalty. If the tax accountant told him something wrong, then maybe the accountant should be assessed half the penalty.
For what it’s worth, he is a financial expert, not a tax accountant. It is the financial expert the country needs to help fix the mess of eight years of mismanagement.
I really like the attitude of the right wing nuts. For some reason, their frustration at the failure of their own schemes to ruin the entire world must be taken out on normal people. Poor little wing nuts.
Now, as was suggested earlier, why not just STFU.
*
Cow-Paddy,
You are really one to complain. Continually you post garbage. Why? Maybe Radio Shack makes you empty the garbage in the stock room. Maybe your mommy makes you take out the garbage. Maybe you just are garbage.
change we can believe in…..haaaaa
# 29 algore said, “change we can believe in…..haaaaa”
LOL
Just wait. The Obama zombies will continue to trickle onto this thread to make lame excuses and ad homium attacks as they realize that the Messiah has no clothes…
#30, Cow-Paddy,
Still showing your support the worst President in our history. Only 27% approve of Bush. That must bite your butt.
I can see it will be a real shock that we are going from a system of lazzai faire economics to one of oversight and adherence to regulations.