Short-sighted Debt Deal Protects Tax Evaders | Editorial

“We don’t pay taxes,” boasted the notorious hôtelière Leona Helmsley. “Only the little people pay taxes.” That testimony from an ex-employee helped send her to prison for shaving her income taxes by $1.2 million. She and her husband claimed business expenses for work on their $19 million Connecticut mansion. A $1 million marble dance floor and a $210,000 mahogany table were charged to their real estate empire — effectively to taxpayers. The IRS might never have caught on had the Helmsleys not also tried to stiff contractors whose lawsuits exposed the fraud. Leona Helmsley is gone, but enough tax evaders are still around to make a special constituency for Republicans in Congress. Less tax enforcement Not much in the debt ceiling extension deal will have lasting impact.

 

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