Charlie Rangel's Financial and Tax Scandals

Somewhat obscured by the controversy surrounding Obamacare is another scandal that is bubbling up in the House of Representatives that threatens to devour the powerful Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, Charlie Rangel.

It seems that Rep. Charlie Rangel, whose Ways and Means Committee writes all tax law in the United States, is himself a tax cheat. The Washington Examiner's Byron York takes up the narrative.

"Last week, we learned that Rangel filed a grossly misleading financial disclosure report for 2007 -- failing to report at least half a million dollars in assets.

"It turns out Rangel had a credit union account worth at least $250,000 and maybe as much as $500,000 -- and didn't report it. He had investment accounts worth about the same, which he also didn't report. Ditto for three pieces of property in New Jersey.

"Beyond that, we've learned that Rangel has failed to report assets totaling more than $1 million on legally required financial disclosure forms going back to at least 2001.

"The news comes on top of revelations last year that Rangel didn't report -- and didn't pay taxes on -- income from a villa in the Caribbean. In that matter, the Internal Revenue Service gave him sweetheart treatment; Rangel paid about $10,000 in back taxes but was not required to pay any penalty or interest."

So far calls to force Chairman Charlie Rangel to step down have fallen upon deaf ears. In the meantime House Republicans are having a little fun introducing HR 735 or the Rangel Rule Bill. The Rangel Rule bill would grant all tax payers the same courtesy that the IRS has given Chairman Charlie Rangel. That is to say, if one is caught cheating on one's taxes, one will just be obliged to pay what ones owes and all interest and penalties will be waived. HR 735 has no chance of passing, but passage is not that point. The point that there is one rule for powerful, liberal Democrat House Committee Chairmen and one for the rest of us is the point.

The Gingrich Revolution of 1994 had several causes. One of them was a failed attempt to nationalize the country's health care system. That seems to be playing out again on steroids in 2009.

One other aspect that led to the Gingrich Revolution was a series of Congressional scandals, in 1994 having to do with the House Bank and the House Post Office. Charlie Rangel seems to be doing his best to all by himself provide a 2009 analogy for that one as well.

Charlie Rangel is instrumental for a lot of legislation, not only having to do with taxes, but with health care and a variety of other issues as well. It seems to suggest that Charlie Rangel, who has been a member of Congress for almost forty years, has been in Washington too long that he thinks that the rules he makes do not apply to him.

Source: The clock is ticking on tax cheat Charlie Rangel, Byron York, Washington Examiner, September 1st, 2009