Ketchup boy and Breck Girl in Hairy Tax trouble

Rush Limbaugh.com ^

[Gopher Broke]

Ketchup Boy & Breck Girl in Hairy Tax Trouble

August 1, 2003

Being a Democratic Party member has all sorts of benefits, such as being able to play games with your taxes and get nary a peep from the mainstream press. "A bank's lapse," as the Boston Globe helpfully describes it, "left more than $10,000 in property taxes owed on a vacation home overlooking Nantucket Sound shared by Senator John F. Kerry and his wife, Teresa Heinz Kerry."

The same thing happened with the Breck Girl, Senator John Edwards. He bought this big new mansion in Georgetown but apparently decided that "only little people pay taxes." The news hit yesterday that he's $11,000 light on his property tax payments for his mansion. He hustled, made the payments, and got it done in time to stave off what could have been quite a controversy - if he were a Republican. These are classic examples of "tax cuts for the rich." John and Teresa Heinz, plus the Breck Girl.

[laweeks]

And I'm sure they'll both be prosecuted and serve jail time if found guilty of tax chiselling. That will be the same time pigs will fly out of my butt. We have a ruling class, and they do NOT (and never will ) suffer punishment for crimes . . . Just us pukes get punished.

[Wolfie]

The Heinz property is held in a trust managed by Mellon. It was Mellon's fiduciary repsonsibility to pay the taxes. They have admitted same, and paid the tax bill. I'm no fan of Kerry/Heinz, but thems the facts.

[newgeezer]

Oops, you caught me. Here, I'll pay those taxes, and everything's all better.

It's just like the unpaid SS taxes for domestic help, everything's a-okay, so long as they pay up when caught, right? Yeah, right.

[laweeks]

"The Heinz property is held in a trust managed by Mellon. It was Mellon's fiduciary repsonsibility to pay the taxes. They have admitted same, and paid the tax bill."

But 'methinks they wouldn't have paid a dime if they hadn't been caught. No matter what you call it or how it's handled or who handles it, they chiselled taxes until they were caught. At least they haven't claimed their used underwear as tax-write offs like the Clinton grifters did.

[harpu]

"They (the Mellon Trust account) have admitted same, and paid the tax bill. I'm no fan of Kerry/Heinz, but thems the facts.

And, with them facts .... do you believe Mr. & Mrs. Heinz Ketchup would be exempt of fines and penalties?

[Wolfie]

Heinz, yes. Mellon, no.

[Sabertooth]

You know, when Republicans try and cut taxes, they are accused by the Democrats of "stealing money from the poor." This is apparently based on the postulate that "smaller government revenues = stealing money from the poor."

Yet if that postulate is held consistently, aren't Democrats who utilize tax write-offs also stealing from the poor?

Democrats are always talking about the immorality of tax cuts... aren't they actually breaking their own moral code by stealing money from the poor via tax write-offs?

[Southack]

Ugggg. I may dislike all of the involved players, but this is a non-issue.

[ken5050]

Yes, but...if it was W or Cheney...it'd be front page on the NY Times and the WP...that's the point here...

[DeFault User]

Not stated in this article is the fact that Edwards has been late on his taxes 9 times on property in Raleigh, the NC Beach and his autos. Once or twice you could chalk up to oversight, slipup, etc., but 9 times?

I'll bet the Breck girl wouldn't tolerate that record of payment from his legal clients.

[jackbill]

The Heinz property is held in a trust managed by Mellon. It was Mellon's fiduciary repsonsibility to pay the taxes. They have admitted same, and paid the tax bill. I'm no fan of Kerry/Heinz, but thems the facts.

And Rush conveniently forgot to mention that Karl Rove was delinquent on his property taxes in DC last week. Turns out that his mortgage company (Wells Fargo) forgot to send in the taxes from the excrow account. Wells Fargo admitted the error and they are paying the interest and penalties. It happens.

However, when someone like Eleanor Holmes Norton and her husband fail to file a federal income tax return for a number of years, Big Media quickly forgets it.

[Southack]

Actually, I'm pretty sure that our guy DeLay got hit with this self-same thing in D.C.

[Southack]

Scratch that, it wasn't DeLay, it was Rove.

[Lonesome in Massachussets]

And I'm sure they'll both be prosecuted and serve jail time if found guilty of tax chiselling.

In my little town of 5,000 dwellings, if you're a few monthes late on your real estate tax, they publish your name (and a couple dozen others) in the local Thursday Effort Tattler. You have to pay interest and penalties and all is forgiven. I've never heard of a criminal prosecution. Most likely, if you let it go long enough the bank will foreclose to protect its interests and they'll sell the property at auction. (If you have more than 50% equity, you may not be required to keep an escrow account.)

Still, this speaks very poorly about their ability to manage even the most basic of life's executive tasks. When I had >50% equity in my last house (in fact I have about 80% equity in my current digs) I paid my own property taxes and they were my number #2 priority, right after mortgage.

[Sabertooth]

I may dislike all of the involved players, but this is a non-issue.

The article brought up another thought that I've been having.

Sure, closing the tax spigot to the government from the pockets of any citizen is perfectly acceptable in the context of GOP values. The point is, from a Democrat perspective, it's stealing money from the poor.

Democrat tax write-offs = hypocrisy.

[chimera]

You know, when Republicans try and cut taxes, they are accused by the Democrats of "stealing money from the poor." This is apparently based on the postulate that "smaller government revenues = stealing money from the poor."

Yet if that postulate is held consistently, aren't Democrats who utilize tax write-offs also stealing from the poor?

Democrats are always talking about the immorality of tax cuts... aren't they actually breaking their own moral code by stealing money from the poor via tax write-offs?

This whole "stealing from the poor" body of rhetoric is logically inconsistent. By definition the poor have little or nothing, so what's to "steal"? If anybody, its should be "the rich" who are targets of the thieves. They've got something someone can steal. If your going to go through the trouble of stealing, why not make it worth your while and steal something from somone who's got something?

So I guess its the Rats who are really the ones doing the stealing, since they with their class warfare and all want to go after "the rich". So the Rats are the real thieves, but we knew that already.

[Southack]

While you are correct, logical consistency is seldom required for an emotional argument (i.e. the Democrats: writ large).

[Southack]

"This whole "stealing from the poor" body of rhetoric is logically inconsistent. By definition the poor have little or nothing, so what's to "steal"?"

c#18

[Quilla]

Mellon gets no respect.