Rangel Finally Hires Tax Help

After weeks of dodging the issue, Rep. Charles Rangel (D-NY) has finally found someone to figure out his tax situation. You see, as head of the House Ways and Means Committee, Rangel was responsible for writing tax laws, but never seemed able to figure out that those tax laws also applied to him.

He failed to pay taxes on rental income from his condo in Punta Cana, proceeds from sales of real property in New York City, imputed income from using a House parking spot as long term storage, and who knows what else. He underpaid state and federal taxes in the tens of thousands of dollars.

We may soon learn just how much he underpaid.

The powerful Harlem Democrat said he had hired the accounting firm of Watkins, Meegan, Drury and Co. to investigate his financial records and report its findings to the House ethics panel probing him.

Rangel "is providing all information needed by the committee to reach its conclusions, and looks forward to a rapid resolution of this matter," he said in a press release.

The chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, which crafts tax laws, Rangel is being probed for failing to pay taxes and disclose income for a vacation home in the Dominican Republic. He also is under scrutiny for using his congressional letterhead to lure donors to his namesake educational institution in Harlem, and for having four rent-stabilized apartments there. Rangel has written checks totaling $10,800 for back taxes.

That $10,800 is most likely a down payment on the full tax bill.