|
"Mr. President, Mr Veep - Your Tax Returns, Sirs?" by Burtonsville, MD, 20866
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- It is an annual ritual in the United States: April 15 is Tax Day, last day on which you should have postmarked your tax returns unless you have asked for extension (till August). Otherwise if you eventually owe money to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), you will pay interest on it with a fine. April 15, 2001 being Sunday, today April 16 is the Tax Day. For the first time in a long time, I filed early this year and posted my tax returns on April 14. My wife and a few fellow tax-laggard friends are simply amazed, and hope that I am Ok. I am, thank you. But this piece is not about my taxes. I was AMAZED at a news item that I read in the Washington Post on April 14: --------------- QUOTE http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A16756-2001Apr13.html Bush's Income Tax Bill Is About $240,000 Cheney Reports Federal Tax of $14 Million on Adjusted Income of $36 Million By Mike Allen Washington Post Staff Writer Saturday, April 14, 2001; Page A09 CRAWFORD, Tex., April 13 -- President Bush reported adjusted gross income of $894,880 last year and Vice President Cheney reported adjusted gross income of $36 million, the White House announced today. According to a Heritage Foundation tax cut calculator that is featured on a Republican National Committee Web site promoting Bush's tax cut proposal, the president would have saved about $35,000 in taxes under his plan and Cheney would have saved about $2.4 million. Bush and his wife, Laura, who are spending Easter weekend at their ranch here, paid federal income taxes of $240,342. Cheney and his wife, Lynne, owed federal taxes of $14,295,058 on adjusted gross income of $36,086,635, officials said. Bush donated $143,300 to churches and charitable organizations in 2000, accounting for 16 percent of his income. Of that, $75,000 came from advance royalties from his autobiography, "A Charge to Keep," and was donated in equal amounts to the Boy Scouts of America, the Girl Scouts of America, the Boys and Girls Clubs of America, and Girls Inc., formerly the Girls Club of America. Bush's income from 2000 includes his salary as Texas governor and investment income from the blind trusts in which the couple's assets are held, officials said. Although Bush's salary was $115,345, he was not paid for days when he was out of state campaigning. He listed earnings of $70,554. He had taxable interest of $549,236, dividends of $61,546 and capital gains of $138,358. President Bill Clinton released his entire tax returns when he was in office. Bush released his Form 1040 without attachments. White House press secretary Ari Fleischer said, "This is the standard manner in which the president releases his taxes. This is the way he did it as governor." The Cheneys' income included salary of $806,332 and $4 million in deferred compensation and bonuses from Halliburton Co., the Dallas oil-services firm of which Cheney was chief executive until he resigned on Aug. 16.. It also included Lynne Cheney's earnings from serving on boards and as a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. "The overwhelming balance of the remaining wage and salary income reported on the Cheneys' tax return was from the exercise of stock options and from the sale of restricted stock of Halliburton that Mr. Cheney received as compensation," a news release said. Cheney gave $41,646 of his taxable income to charities. He arranged to donate to three charities the eventual profits from the exercise of $7.8 million in stock options, most from Halliburton. In a Jan. 18 gift agreement, he designated 40 percent of the proceeds for the University of Wyoming, his alma mater; 40 percent for George Washington University Medical Faculty Associates, which benefits the cardiac unit where he was treated; and 20 percent to Capital Partners for Education, a foundation providing scholarships for low-income, high-school-age children in the Washington area. 2001 The Washington Post Company -------------------------------------------------------------------- UNQUOTE So what amazed me? Not what you think - not the size of Bush or Cheney's incomes, not the steep salary cuts that they will face from their old jobs to new ones (Cheney especially), not the size of their tax bills or the charity-stinginess of Cheney! It was this at first: That there could be so much accountability in the State of Texas - and possibly in other states as well - that about 40% of Governor Bush's salary was held back because he was out not doing his governor's work, but rather campaigning all of that time for the presidency! Can you imagine that? In fairness to Bush, it turns out that back in July 1999, he had acknowledged imminent absence from gubernatorial duties and pledged to take himself off the Texas payroll whenever he was out of state for a full 24 hours. Apparently, it was not just politics: he fulfilled his pledge. Nice touch, Dubya! Maybe more people would have voted for you if that information was made more public! Then we would never of heard about chads in Florida! Secondly, I was also amazed at big and oil-rich Texas governor's meager salary of $115K. So I went looking for US Governors' salaries, only to see that some governor in the US - Arkansas, old stomping ground of President Clinton - earns as low as $68K! Most earn between $100K and $120K (See table below for Top Ten and Bottom Ten.) Another real lesson in fiscal federalism of the US. But notice: of the top ten, only two are non-littoral states. Of the bottom ten, ALL are littoral states! Go figure. Well, quite honestly, while Bush's total income was tidy, it looks like "chicken change" compared to Cheney's $36 million income in 2000, and $14 million in taxes! So I ask myself, as I always do: what POSSIBLY could a man be contributing to ANY enterprise for him to be WORTH $1 milion dollars, not to talk of $36 million ALL BY HIMSELF? I can see Michael Jordan's presence selling tickets, and Tiger Woods not only selling tickets but endorsing prodcuts. But president of an oil parts company? I mean, the inequity is simply too much! Which brings me to my third amazement: the EQUANIMITY with which the typical American discusses the INEQUITY in salaries in this country. The typical response to this kind of Cheney salary is: "Oh well - good for him!" No riots, nothing...... I mean, "where is the outrage?", to quote Senator Bob Dole? None, none whatsoever. The large-size middle-class seems too comfortable themselves to care - many of them hope that they will soon escape into that Bush/Cheney bracket anyway, while the poor are too busy to even read about the news above, and everybody seems to have somebody else that he is either better than or can look up to money-wise. Meanwhile, the big pressboys (eg Koppel, Jennings, Rather, Brokaw etc.) who might "invest-instigate" and create a stink are not doing too badly themselves money-wise, thank you, so why bother? Only in America...... By the way, does any one know the year 2000 figures for the income, charity and taxes of our President Obasanjo and Vice-President Atiku of Nigeria? Inquiring minds want to know! It would be nice to know, won't it? Maybe when President Obasanjo visits on May 11, 2001 or thereabout? Ah, yes, in case those inquiring minds are wondering: I did ask for refund on my federal taxes again this year - about 0.01% of Cheney's income. It is mine to keep if we get it, so please don't ask. But yes - I will work to reduce my interest-free loan to Uncle Sam this tax period. Have a good week. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Table 1: Salaries of some US Governors (in effect in 2000) State Figure (rounded) ------ ---------------- Top 10 ------ New York $179K California $175K Illinois* $146K Massachusetts $135K Washington $136K Michigan* $127K Virginia $125K Georgia $123K Florida, Maryland $120K Bottom 10 --------- New Hampshire $96K Hawai, Louisiana, Alabama, Rhode Island $95K Oregon $88K New Jersey $85K Alaska $82K Maine $70K Arkansas $68K *non-littoral states Source: The World Almanac & Book of Facts (2001) -- US Presidents' Salaries (since 1949) ------------------------------------ Current US Presidential Salary (2001): $400,000/year + $50,000 expense account (now being earned by George W. Bush, starting January 2001) Presidential Salary Up till Bill Clinton (January 20, 1993 to January 20, 2001): $200,000/year + $50,000 expense account. Richard Nixon (January 20, 1969 to August 9, 1974) was first president to earn $200,000 (Starting January 1969) Presidential Salary Up till Lyndon Baines Johnson (November 22, 1963 to January 20, 1969): $100,000/year + $50,000 expense account Presidential Salary of Harry S. Truman (April 12, 1945 to January 20, 1953) was $75,000/year (increased to $100,000 + $50,000 expense account in 1949) Source: POTUS: President of the United States ----- Related websites: http://www.taxhistory.org/presidential/ Presidential Tax Returns (of Roosevelt, Nixon, Carter, Reagan, George H. Bush, Clinton, GW Bush & Cheney) http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/elect2000/pres/bush/19990706/t000060445.html Bush to Skip Salary on Campaign Trail Tuesday, July 6, 1999 http://quest.augustachronicle.com/stories/101000/gen_1010006257.shtml Gore, Bush juggle their day jobs The Associated Press October 10, 2000 A Bush Joke: http://www.onion.com/onion3637/bush_horrified.html Bush Horrified at Presidential Salary http://www.dbm.com/jobguide/salspec.html Riley Guide - Salary & Compensation Information --------------------------------------------------------------------------- |