Yet another Obama Administration nominee is under scrutiny for income tax inconsistencies. We recently told you about Health and Human Services nominee Kathleen Sebelius' in the article, Kansas Governor Signs Bill on Offering Ultrasounds Before Abortion.
Now Sebelius has admitted to paying over $7,000 in back taxes in what she characterizes as "unintentional errors:"
In her letter to Baucus and Grassley, Sebelius wrote that the accountant discovered these errors:
--Charitable contributions over $250 are supposed to include an acknowledgment letter from the charity in order for a deduction to be taken. Out of 49 charitable contributions made, three letters couldn't be found.
--Sebelius and her husband took deductions for mortgage interest that they weren't entitled to. The couple sold their home in 2006 for less than what they owed on the mortgage. They continued to make payments on the mortgage, including interest. But since they no longer owned the home they weren't entitled to take deductions for the interest. The same thing happened with a home improvement loan. Sebelius said they ''mistakenly believed'' the payments were still deductible.
--Insufficient documentation was found for some business expense deductions. Source: New York Times
At this point, I would like to see exactly how much of the $7K was from each of the areas Sebelius noted in her statement. Even though 7K is a lot of money, this may turn out to be a whole lot of fuss over nothing. Based on the statement, it doesn't sound that bad,but of course that was the point...
Do you think this latest revelation will cause Sebelius to withdraw her nomination for Health and Human Services?
