Did Rahm Emanuel pay property taxs? Nope?

www.dickmoris.com ^ | 25 Feb | Dick Moris

[zek157]

Published in the New York Post February 17, 2009

News broke last week that Rahm Emanuel, now White House chief of staff, lived rent- free for years in the home of Rep. Rosa De Lauro (D-Conn.) - and failed to disclose the gift, as congressional ethics rules mandate. But this is only the tip of Emanuel’s previously undislosed ethics problems.

One issue is the work Emanuel tossed the way of De Lauro’s husband. But the bigger one goes back to Emanuel’s days on the board of now-bankrupt mortgage giant Freddie Mac.

Emanuel is a multimillionaire, but lived for the last five years for free in the tony Capitol Hill townhouse owned by De Lauro and her husband, Democratic pollster Stan Greenberg.

During that time, he also served as chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee - which gave Greenberg huge polling contracts. It paid Greenberg’s firm $239,996 in 2006 and $317,775 in 2008. (Emanuel’s own campaign committee has also paid Greenberg more than $50,000 since 2004.)

To be fair, Greenberg had polling contracts with the DCCC before - but each new election cycle brings its own set of consultants. And Emanuel was certainly generous with his roommate.

Emanuel never declared the substantial gift of free rent on any of his financial-disclosure forms. He and De Lauro claim that it was just allowable “hospitality” between colleagues. Hospitality - for five years?

Some experts suggest that it was also taxable income: Over five years, the free rent could easily add up to more than $100,000.

[dljordan]

“Special counsel investigation please!”

Fat chance! Rahm is O’s controller. He ain’t going anywhere.

[zek157]

I did a little digging and the story is incorrect. Rahm does pay the property taxes. All he’s doing is taking advantage of the tax code by making charitable donations that are somewhat suspect.

Sorry.

http://progressillinois.com/2008/11/07/rahm-emanuel-property-taxes

Fact Check: Rahm Emanuel Does Pay His Property Taxes
by Josh Kalven on November 07, 2008 - 10:29am

Thanks to a poorly researched “suggestion” by the conservative Illinois Review blog that congressman and soon-to-be White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel doesn’t pay property taxes on his home, this rumor is now circling the internet and apparently even came up on an XM radio show this morning. So, in the hopes of attracting some of the Google searches resulting from this little monster, here are the facts.

Actually, there’s really just one fact: Emanuel does pay his property taxes. Courtesy of Capitol Fax — which quickly debunked the Illinois Review post yesterday — here’s a copy of Emanuel’s tax bill from last year (click for larger version):

[Knute]

Obama Paid 2% to charities

Actually on the HIGH end of his contemporary colleagues! Don't have the specifics immediately available, but I recall several high income libs who gave under $1000 per year

[muawiyah]

More thinking ~ Rahm Emanuel received a stipend ~ let's call it a "per diem", for the rental or purchase of a property in the DC area for his use while doing public business.

All the Congresscritters get this tax-free supplement to their pay.

However, with Rahm living rent free with his friends, he could simply pocket that stipend.

There may well be a tax liability issue, as well as a Congressional ethics question, regarding what Rahm did with his housing allowance.

[Doogle]

Emanuel...just another Bambi buddy tax cheat

[philly-d-kidder]

it is sickening what is going on!

[ataDude]

Now, that is exactly what they’re harping on Palin about. Exactly.

[Doogle]

NY’s Governor Paterson (D) makes $179.000 a year and only donated $150 to Charity last year. Now ex NY Governor Spitzer gave thousands to Charity....and thousands to Tiffany...and thousands to Cristy....

[glorgau]

Finally, some investigative journalism.

[muawiyah]

Of course. Democrats think they are invisible, but what do you imagine is their source of inspiration for investigating or going after Republicans?

It's their own POS, that's what it is.

They went after Senator Craig because, as it turns out, they know what that foot tapping means when they do it.

They went after the Congresscritter in Florida because, after all, they all know what it means when they send emails to young House pages.

Just look at Obama's appointees ~ tax cheat after tax cheat after tax cheat ~ and you'd better be sure that apple doesn't fall far from the tree. All these guys, Blagoyevich, Emanuel and Obama held the same seat in the House. They were elected by the same pukes in Chicago. They were financed by the same criminal elements. All same, same, same.

None are innocent!

[AnalogReigns]

I recall several high income libs who gave under $1000 per year

You may be remembering Al Gore's tax returns for '99 released in the 2000 election, where on a (well over) $400,000 salary as VP, with many millions more in family assets providing income, he declared $400 in charitable donations that year...

[Rockingham]

Fact Check refutes this allegation on what seem to be firm grounds: that due to ownership of adjoining lots, the mailing address used by the local property assessor is different from the home’s usual mailing address. I have seen that kind of thing before as a simple matter of a choice made by a data entry clerk deep in the bureaucracy.

http://www.factcheck.org/askfactcheck/does_rahm_emanuel_pay_property_taxes.html

In addition, Cook County’s property tax search function on the Internet is by property address or parcel number, not by name. This makes it harder to check if someone has paid property taxes and invites confusion.