For those of you in Nashville, I thought that Corker did a very good job in his interview with Steve Gill (although I felt that Gill punted a few to him and didn’t ask the tough questions). Also, they failed to discuss the “tax” issue and how Corker didn’t pay taxes during 2 years in the ’80s. On this subject, I ask “what’s the big deal?”. If he can show that he had no legal reason to pay taxes, why are we talking about this? Any taxpayer would take advantage of available laws to keep from paying more in taxes, right? At that time, he was involved in real estate deals. He had some deductions. And, he didn’t pay taxes. So, what???
He didn’t owe any, right? We are not saying he evaded taxes, right? I don’t think that Corker should be attacked on this. If you want to attack somebody, attack the legislators who had their pockets lined with cash as they created loopholes. Bob Corker didn’t do anything that any other taxpayer wouldn’t have done. The difference is . . . he is running for office. Attacks on this issue are small-minded. And, they are only devised to exploit the rich vs. poor class distinctions that bring out the worst in people. I do think that Bob Corker should provide his returns for those years. And, then say, “so what???” And, if he shows that his actions are legal, any further attempts to attack him by campaigns are not devised in an attempt to produce the best representative for Tennessee. Rather, they are devised to push the buttons of voters . . . the buttons that are creating divisions within our country.
Nice write-up, and I agree completely with your assessment of these “didn’t pay taxes he didn’t owe” attacks.
There are two possible reasons for an individual to file an income tax return and not pay any income tax: 1) under applicable tax laws and legal accounting practices, no tax is owed to the government, or 2) the information within the returns is fraudulent, which gives the appearance that no tax is owed to the government.
In Corker’s case, we don’t know whether his returns are fraudulent because Corker has chosen not to produce his returns. Now, I believe that there are two possible reasons for this: 1) the information within the tax returns is, in fact, fraudulent, or 2) his income/revenue is so great that it would give an appearance of a huge socio-economic void between him and the voters.
Either way, Corker, by not producing his returns is shielding a questionable piece of his character from the public.