White House Says No To Death Star

Have you been or seen the White House website? Did you know that you can post a petition there? Here is the website:

The right to petition your government is guaranteed by the First Amendment of the United States Constitution. We the People provides a new way to petition the Obama Administration to take action on a range of important issues facing our country. We created We the People because we want to hear from you. If a petition gets enough support, White House staff will review it, ensure it’s sent to the appropriate policy experts, and issue an official response.

The following was actually posted:

We petition the Obama administration to:

Secure resources and funding, and begin construction of a Death Star by 2016.

Those who sign here petition the United States government to secure funding and resources, and begin construction on a Death Star by 2016.

By focusing our defense resources into a space-superiority platform and weapon system such as a Death Star, the government can spur job creation in the fields of construction, engineering, space exploration, and more, and strengthen our national defense.

The petition received over 34,000 signatures, prompting the White House to post the following:

The Administration shares your desire for job creation and a strong national defense, but a Death Star isn't on the horizon. Here are a few reasons:

• The construction of the Death Star has been estimated to cost more than $850,000,000,000,000,000. We're working hard to reduce the deficit, not expand it.
• The Administration does not support blowing up planets.
• Why would we spend countless taxpayer dollars on a Death Star with a fundamental flaw that can be exploited by a one-man starship?

Even though the United States doesn't have anything that can do the Kessel Run in less than 12 parsecs, we've got two spacecraft leaving the Solar System and we're building a probe that will fly to the exterior layers of the Sun. We are discovering hundreds of new planets in other star systems and building a much more powerful successor to the Hubble Space Telescope that will see back to the early days of the universe. 

If you do pursue a career in a science, technology, engineering or math-related field, the Force will be with us! Remember, the Death Star's power to destroy a planet, or even a whole star system, is insignificant next to the power of the Force.

COMMENT: OK, technically this is not tax - but it is funny.

The Cause of Action Lawsuit

Something caught my attention this week. You know how this blog works: if it catches my attention, we likely will talk about it.

So let’s talk.

Do you remember when a senior White House official blabbed-out the following in August, 2010?

"In this country we have partnerships, we have S corps, we have LLCs, we have a series of entities that do not pay corporate income tax," said the senior administration official. "Some of which are really giant firms, you know Koch Industries is a multibillion dollar businesses."

The problem is that this comment implies direct knowledge of Koch’s tax status, which – if offered up by a White House official – is a violation of federal law. You know, the kind of law you or I would go to jail for breaking.

In November, 2011 the New York Times opened its front-page guns on Ronald Lauder, a Reagan administration official and the chairman of the Jewish National Fund and of the World Jewish Congress.  The Times picked on Mr. Lauder for using aggressive techniques to minimize his taxes - the kind you and I might review if you hired me. There may be a point where it is too aggressive for us, but that is a different issue. None of us has a obligation to pay more tax than necessary. I would know your taxes because you would have hired me. However, how would the Times know about Mr. Lauder’s taxes? Point is… they shouldn’t. If I talked about his taxes I would lose my license, have a malpractice claim, likely be sued and who knows what else.

The irony that the Sulzbergers – the owners of the New York Times – probably used the same or similar techniques did not seem to occur to the Times.

Frank VanderSloot is a wealthy businessman who wrote a sizeable check to a PAC which supports Mitt Romney. For this he - and seven other donors - were named on an Obama campaign website as "wealthy individuals with less-than-reputable records." Are you kidding me? This summer he was pulled for audit by the IRS. So was his wife. For two years. Mr. VanderSloot and his accountants do not recall ever being audited. Not bad, considering that (1) he is uber-wealthy and (2) he is 63 years old.

Where are we going with this? In April a watchdog group named Cause of Action filed a Freedom of Information Act request for a listing of tax returns the White House has requested. How does the White House get them? Take a look at Section 6103(g) of the Internal Revenue Code:

6103(g) Disclosure to President and Certain Other Persons.—

 

6103(g)(1) In general.—

Upon written request by the President, signed by him personally, the Secretary shall furnish to the President, or to such employee or employees of the White House Office as the President may designate by name in such request, a return or return information with respect to any taxpayer named in such request. Any such request shall state—

6103(g)(1)(A)  the name and address of the taxpayer whose return or return information is to be disclosed,

6103(g)(1)(B)  the kind of return or return information which is to be disclosed,

6103(g)(1)(C)  the taxable period or periods covered by such return or return information, and

6103(g)(1)(D)  the specific reason why the inspection or disclosure is requested.

The IRS rejected the request, stating that it could not disclose information “specifically exempted from disclosure by another law.” The IRS appears to be referencing the fact that tax returns are confidential and cannot be released pursuant to the FOIA. The IRS has not explained however how a listing of returns requested by the White House is the same as releasing the tax returns themselves.

So this Tuesday Cause of Action filed a lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service.

I am uncomfortable that a lawsuit was even necessary.