What part of the article is lies? If Palin didn’t claim per diem expenses while staying in her own home, as stated in the article, she should refute the article, because so far, Palin said that in fact she did claim the per diem while staying in Wasilla.
I was quite careful not to claim that the article was "lies" - I said it was a "smear piece", designed to paint Palin as a "tax cheat", like the innumerable crowd of Democrat Tax Cheats (but I repeat myself, since Democrat=Tax Cheat).
I merely opined in the attachment that it would "sure would be nice if the Republicans had whole staffs of "reporters" on retainer to put out lies smearing the opposition..." - referring in general to the majority of Obama's Department of The Main Stream Media.
BTW - I'll give you a tip: find out who Grimaldi's editor is, and you'll probably find out the White House or DNC conduit...
If Palin didn’t claim per diem expenses while staying in her own home, as stated in the article, she should refute the article, because so far, Palin said that in fact she did claim the per diem while staying in Wasilla.
The purpose of the article is to paint her as a "tax cheat", and nothing more. If you don't believe me, read the comments attached to the article @ the WaPo.
Alaska has some laws that really favor workers who draw per diem. It comes from the days when so many people were working on the pipeline. I worked for the Corps of Engineers, based out of Anchorage and worked in Fairbanks. I normally lived in Fairbanks so I just stayed in my home with my family. I still drew per diem of about (I can’t remember anymore) $105 per day.
Another thing: Overtime is (or was when I left in ‘85) defined as any hours over 8 in a day or 40 in a week and had to be paid at least as time-and-a-half.
Sarah may be doing something that wouldn’t be allowed in D.C. but is perfectly legal in Alaska.
The article is totally inaccurate. To begin with, it was Palin herself who asked the state admin. dept. to look into whether or not per diem is taxable. They determined YESTERDAY that it was. The state will need to produce amended W-2’s or 1099’s for the governor so that she can file an amended return for 2007. Since her “employer” did not include the sum on her original W-2 or 1099, there is no penalty or interest owed. Most of Palin’s per diem was paid in 2008, though, and taxes aren’t even due yet on that.
On another point, Palin received around $17,000 per diem over 2 years to stay in her home rather than the mansion in Juneau. As a result, most of the staff at the mansion were no longer needed, including the governor’s chef who earned $50,000 a year. Hmmmm.......$8,500 or $50,000? I think she saved the state quite a bit of money by living at home.