Daschle Claims Questionable Tax Credit for DC Home

Talon News | August 13, 2003 | By Jeff Gannon

[holyscroller]

WASHINGTON (Talon News) -- Sen. Tom Daschle's (D-SD) new Washington home has been giving the Senate minority leader headaches of late. Last week, Club for Growth, the Washington-based, anti-tax group, began airing ads in South Dakota that imply the senator's "very, very, very big house" purchased in April for $1.9 million betrays his down-home image.

Now another controversy surrounding the palatial French colonial on Washington's exclusive Foxhall Road has emerged. A Talon News search of DC property records revealed that Daschle is receiving the homestead tax credit.

The District of Columbia allows a $30,000 deduction against a property's tax assessment for the calculation of taxes. Even though every owner-occupied property is eligible for the tax credit, it was enacted to protect lower income homeowners from sharp increases in property taxes due to skyrocketing property values in Washington.

The District of Columbia Office of Tax and Revenue confirmed that the house is in the senator's name and that the property is receiving the homestead deduction. The deduction does not carry over from the previous owner, as any change in ownership requires a new application for the credit.

But Daschle may not even qualify for the tax credit, since one of the requirements is that the property must be the owner's primary residence. South Dakota law requires that its elected officials be residents of the state. Therefore, Daschle would be precluded from claiming his Washington home as his primary residence. The senator's tax savings is less than $1,000 a year.

Stephen Moore, President of the Club For Growth, told Talon News, "We have continued to make the case that he is a Washington resident and not the average man of Aberdeen."

Moore added, "The fact that he is claiming the District of Columbia homestead deduction further supports the idea that Daschle has become a creature of Washington, out of touch with the people of South Dakota."

Sioux Falls, South Dakota businessman and potential senate candidate Neal Tapio told Talon News, "It turns out Senator Daschle's blushing bride is blushing because of the sheer hypocrisy of her public and private husband."

Tapio continued, "Publicly, Tom criticizes Republicans for giving tax cuts to the rich and privately he uses Enron-like tax loopholes to save every penny he can."

Tapio was struck by the irony of the tax credit controversy, noting that the senator and his wife are in the upper 5% of income earners. He said, "Claiming a tax credit designed for low-income wage earners while railing on the Republicans for tax cuts for the rich is brazen hypocrisy."

Tapio also commented on Daschle's traditional car tour of South Dakota during the August recess saying, "Trading a 1978 Oldsmobile in South Dakota for a $2 million French colonial in Washington, DC tells us Tom has lost touch with his SD roots."

Tapio noted another irony in the tax issue. He pointed out that it was just last week that Daschle's Senate colleague Max Baucus (D-MT) requested an IRS investigation of a South Dakota non-profit organization that had run ads focusing on Daschle's voting record.

The District of Columbia Office of Tax and Revenue told Talon News that the matter would be investigated.

[kylaka]

Give Tommy some Prozac, cause he really gonna be very deeply saddened.

[ken5050]

I wonder...look..he might lose..and even if he wins, the GOP is gonna pick up seats in the Senate this time..so what's he got to look forward to..a bunch of floorfights on SC nominations...no, better to retire..go out as a "statesman"....

[billhilly]

He's doing it for the children.

[concerned about politics]

just last week that Daschle's Senate colleague Max Baucus (D-MT) requested an IRS investigation of a South Dakota non-profit organization that had run ads focusing on Daschle's voting record.

Gosh. How Clintonesk. Facism at it's finest.

[bigfootbob]

"BTW..I think TD will retire..."

You may be right. I'd like to see the DNC internal poll numbers on Daschole. I bet he doesn't like being the insignificant pi$$ant he's become, not much face time lately.

[princess leah]

I think FOX news ought to run a "special senate" section on their nightly news segment and highlight stuff like this, so more people understand just how self-serving these people truly are...Top 5% - let's hear the breakdown of exactly WHAT our senators are making in income, how they get tax breaks and then let them try to chisle us out of a measley tax cut!

[lainie]

[big grin]

[lainie]

Here's the link for this story:

Daschle Claims Questionable Tax Credit for DC Home

[Howlin]

She over closer to Kalaorama Heights or whatever it is, off Massachusetts Avenue. This is in/near Georgetown.

The Dems seem to be in some sort of "my house is bigger than your house" cycle; I've seen her house up close. She's got a ways to go. UGLY. And small.

[Lucy Lake]

Pinging...

[ken5050]

Daschle may just be waiting to see what Graham in FL and Breax do...if they retire...then he's definitely going...right now the conventional math is a push..the GOP gets the SC seat, and the Dems get the ILL seat....you could ever surmise that TD is holding off his announcement to quit.because that would be taken as a definite admission that the Dems don't have a prayer of taking the senate....it would make it very hard for them to recruite candidates and raise funds...look who's running the Dem Senate effort..Corzine...MR. excitement NOT...probably no one else wanted the job...

[tgslTakoma]

It's all true... and you can read about the Homestead Tax Credit at the website for the DC Office of Tax and Revenue.

On the website sidebar, there is a link for Tax Law and Regulations, a link for the DC Tax Fraud Hotline, and information on the DC Homestead Deduction.

AlGore did a wonderful thing when he invented the internet.

[ALOHA RONNIE]

...WHY did Senate Minority Leader TOM DASCHLE quietly appoint Sen. HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON to a seat on our most sensitive Senate Armed Services Committee in -Time of War-..

...especially when it was HILLARY RODHAM who backed our Terrorist Enemy HO CHI MINH's Communist Victory over us and Freedom during the Vietnam War..?


.."IS it SAFE?" = HILLARY on Senate Armed Services Committee..

http://www.TheAlamoFILM.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=629

[Mad_at_Taxes]

LOL!
I was thinking,"I did not have sexual relations with that tax loophole."

[Blood of Tyrants]

I think that they should let him bim claim the full credit as a resident of D.C. and then immediately declare his Senate seat open. If he won't even maintain the illision of being from South Dakota, dump him.

[Biblebelter]

Home is where the homestead exemption is. This is no surprise, all Washington politicians are whores, but selling out his state for measly 1000 bucks, makes Puff a cheap whore. The Democrats can make fun of a 300 or 400 dollar tax cut as not being significant, but evidently 1000 bucks is where the money gets significant. Funny thing though 300 or 400 is a lot more significant to the average Joe than 1000 would be to this entrenched couple.

[tgslTakoma]

I just did a double-check on the website and at least she (Hillary!) had the good sense to NOT claim the Homestead Credit on her house in DC.

She does her cheating in ways that it's much more difficult to discover; more rock overturning work is needed to find her scams.

[ken5050]

off topic....but was there a Dem debate in OK yesterday?..I haven't seen anything about it.....

[hattend]

BTTT

[ken5050]

Oh..that house..the other own...BTW..what's your senator up to these days, aside from skipping debates...Hardball had a focus group on with FRank Luntz..the GOP polster..with Iowa Dem voters....Edwards got skewered.....wil he run for re-election....?