[eureka!]

A further preview of things to come. Look for this in the next round of Grayout ads. *sigh*

[The Vast Right Wing]

Ah yes, the clinton hold-overs strike again.

[goody2shooz]

This sucks. Political blackballing means too many Clintonistas in the IRS. It ought to be abolished, period.

[andy_card]

How many hints do you guys nee?. We'll all suffer for not nominating Riordan. You should have seen this coming a mile away. I don't like RINOs, but any Republican would be a better Gov. than Gray-out. We've got to use some strategery, people.

[Oldeconomybuyer]

Simon, others named by IRS as part of offshore tax shelters -AP Breaking News
MARK SHERMAN, Associated Press Writer
(07-12) 11:04 PDT WASHINGTON (AP) -- Bill Simon, the Republican nominee for governor, is among dozens of investors identified by the Internal Revenue Service as participants in tax shelters now under federal investigation. Simon'...

[Vladiator]

Buh Bye.

[demlosers]

I remember a thread where The head of the (Clinton appointment)IRS Rossotti or some IRS exec saying, yes we do have politically motivated audits. You'd think saying something like that would bring outrage.

[lelio]

Hopefully people are starting to wake up that one of the main reasons the IRS is here is to make their system so complicated that you'll violate one of their rules (either by accident or by trying to save some money) and they'll hold that over your head so you'll stay in line.

[Gophack]

I think what people are missing here is that the IRS has released the names of PRIVATE CITIZENS WHO HAVE NOT BEEN ACCUSED OF ANYTHING WRONG!!!!!!!!! Simon and the others aren't being investigated for fraud or anything, the IRS is on a fishing expedition. This too big, too powerful and evil government organization needs to be CLEANED OUT. This could happen to any of us.

[Redcloak]

Leftover Clintonistas at IRS?

[Guillermo]

Thats gotta hurt.

Davis is gonna latch onto this like a pit bull.

And you know the wackos out there are gonna buy it.

[Free Vulcan]

J. Peter Simon, the candidate's brother and chairman of the family investing firm William E. Simon and Sons, said the Simons relied on professional tax advice from KPMG and others.

"The matter at hand is between the IRS and KPMG," J. Peter Simon said in a statement issued by his brother's campaign. "Like many Californians, because of the technical complexity of IRS regulations, we have utilized the advice and guidance of tax professionals, including KPMG, other accountants and tax attorneys."

Simon's brother has handled this very,very well, this is about the best way he could put it. I don't see this hurting Simon much, he could even flip this around in Gray's face if he pushes it.

[Iconoclast2]

From the Wall Street Journal:

"Names were included to establish for the judge the basis of our allegation," said IRS spokesman Frank Keith

So the first step is to fire Mr. Keith and whoever told him what to say. Anyone want to bet whether that will happen?

[Teacher317]

GEPHARDT RECEIVED TWO UNSECURED LOANS FROM MCAULIFFEBANK
Klayman goes after VP Cheney

A bad week for every pol's financial history.

[LibWhacker]

. . . dozens of participants in suspect tax shelters . . .

Any liberals in good standing with the DNC on that list? 'Nuff said.

[daviddennis]

KPMG is a top accounting firm with a good reputation. I don't see any shame in getting advice from it and using same.

In fact, I agree with the KPMG representative - this is an appalling violation of taxpayer privacy. At this point, the matter is between KPMG and the IRS. KPMG packaged the product and represented it as a tax shelter; Simon and friends bought it. There is nothing at all illegal or unethical about it.

Tax shelters exist because the government wants to encourage people to do certain things, such as build affordable housing. In the aggregate they are probably bad for the economy because they distract taxpayer attention from earning as much of a return as humanly possible. But if you feel they are morally questionable, talk to Congress about it.

I might add that many of you enjoy the best tax shelter at my expense: You own a home and deduct mortgage interest. This is because many people in the government feel - quite reasonably, in my opinon - that citizens should be encouraged to own their homes. Since I live in one of the most expensive housing markets in the nation, I can't afford a home, so I am helping to subsidize yours. This is no different than what Simon did.

D