| ► Letter to IRS Commissioner Doug Schulman re: TX legislators as possible tax scofflaws |
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Letter to IRS Commissioner Doug Schulman re: TX legislators as possible tax scofflaws
August 13, 2010
Doug Schulman
Commission, Internal Revenue Service
Re: Texas State legislator’s as possible tax scofflaws
Dear Mr. Schulman:
I have spent an inordinate amount of time investigating/reporting on the manner in which Texas legislators expend campaign funds to pay personal lodging costs in Austin. As I suspect you know, the Texas legislature conducts sessions for 6 months every two years (odd numbered years). On occasions special 30-day sessions are held.
Title 26 of the Internal Revenue Code, §162 – Trade or Business Expenses as to “State legislators’ travel expenses away from home” states in relevant part:
(1) – Legislator’s district shall be considered his/her place of residence/home
(2) – His/her legislative living expenses determined
(3) – He/she deemed away from residence on each legislative day
(4) – Legislator deemed to have expended living expenses equal to sum of amounts by
Multiplying each legislative day
(5) – He/she deemed to be away from home on legislative day’s only
Attached for your review are 3 text boxes demonstrating that these legislators (1) Leticia Van De Putte of San Antonio, (2) Garnet Coleman of Houston, and (3) Beverly Woolley of Houston all have had living expenses in Austin paid by their campaigns even though no legislative sessions were held. Additional text boxes regarding this matter can be found by going to the URL found under the article title below or by going to the category “Texas Reporter” on my website at www.noethics.net.
Houston/San Antonio legislators misappropriating state funds – tax avoidance
This conduct is somewhat reminiscent of what has gone on at “C” Street in D.C. in regards to US Congressman paying monthly rents that were clearly being subsidized by others at below market rates, thereby allowing them to avoid declaring said subsidies as income as complained of by the Rev. Eric Williams, et al. of Columbus, Ohio.
I’m sure that one or more Texas legislators will have the chutzpah to defend this conduct by claiming that Austin was his/her official campaign residence.
If that were true which it clearly isn’t, then unbeknownst to me, registered voters in Travis County (Austin) must be lawfully entitled to cast a vote in November 2010, for all 155 state representatives and 15 state senators. Seems like a rather arduous and mind-boggling task if true, right? Goshes and Gollies and Gee Whillickers, I’m glad the same rules didn’t apply when I lived in Columbus, Ohio and/or here in Sacramento, if ya know what I mean.
I have at this time opted to only provide you with the facts relevant to the 3 aforementioned legislators. Trust me Mr. Schulman, there’s many, many more Texas legislators, both present and past who have so acted. In fact, the amounts involved regarding this issue are likely in the millions-of-dollars.
What is truly disturbing to me Mr. Schulman is the undeniable fact that many of these scofflaws are millionaires and/or serial-millionaires. You’d like to think, wouldn’t ya Mr. Schulman, that those amongst us that have benefited the most from our Democratic form of government would at a minimum pay their fair share of taxes.
As I suspect you know, this type of avarice and tax avoidance is not limited to Democrats or Republicans. Patently, party affiliation has absolutely nothing to do with those so-called public officials that are in it to unjustly enrich themselves.
Thanks for your time and attention to this matter and I look forward to your prompt reply.
Respectfully yours,
Dave Palmer
The Watchdawg
Folsom, California
Van De Putte, Leticia – 26th Senate – San Antonio
Coleman, Garnet – 147th Rep. – Houston
Woolley, Beverly – 136th Rep. – Houston
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