Easter News Dump:Cheney 06 Tax Return Shows $8.8M Revenue $6.9 To Charity

[kpete]

EASTER FRIDAY DUMP: CHENEY 2006 TAX RETURN SHOWS $8.8M REVENUE; $6.9M TO CHARITY

Cheney releases tax returns Friday afternoon before Easter

RAW STORY
Published: Friday April 14, 2006

VICE PRESIDENT CHENEY released his 2006 tax returns today -- on the Friday afternoon before Easter weekend, RAW STORY has learned.

The following release went out to White House reporters moments ago.

#
THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Vice President

For Immediate Release April 14, 2006

VICE PRESIDENT CHENEY AND MRS. CHENEY

RELEASE 2005 INCOME TAX RETURN

Vice President and Mrs. Cheney released their 2005 federal income tax return today. The return shows that the Cheneys owe federal taxes for 2005 of $529,636 on taxable income of $1,961,157. The Cheneys> '> adjusted gross income in 2005 was $8,819,006 which was largely the result of the exercise by an independent gift administrator of stock options that had been irrevocably set aside in 2001 for charity. The Cheneys donated $6,869,655 to charity in 2005 from the exercise of these stock options under the terms of the Gift Administration Agreement and from Mrs. Cheney> '> s book royalties from Simon & Schuster on her books America: A Patriotic Primer, A is for Abigail: An Almanac of Amazing American Woman, and When Washington Crossed the Delaware: A Wintertime Story for Young Patriots. As provided in the Gift Administration Agreement, gifts were made to three designated charities named in that Agreement. The Cheneys> '> return was filed on March 20, 2006.

During the course of 2005 the Cheneys paid $2,468,566 in taxes through withholding and estimated tax payments. Taxes were withheld from their salaries and from the net proceeds of stock options that were exercised under the Gift Administration Agreement. Given that the option proceeds were dedicated to charity, there was a substantial over withholding in 2005 from the income attributable to the exercise of the stock options, which reduced the amount available for charity in 2005.

more at:
http://www.rawstory.com/news/2006/Cheney_releases_tax_returns_Friday_afternoon_0414.html

[The Backlash Cometh]

1. Follow the money.

[Montauk6]

2. Not only that... follow the reasons for publicizing this.

[OrangeCountyDemocrat]

3. Wonder If Abramoff Was One Of The Charities. nt

[Divernan]

4. Charitable contributions like Barbara Bush's? With strings?

Sure be interested to see what non-profit "charities" they gave all those millions to. And what conditions they put on the use of the moneys by said "charities."

[rfranklin]

13. Guaranteed that they control the "charities"

Simple enough to set up a "charitable" organization dedicated to some great purpose like "spreading democracy." You control where the donations go and in what amount. This guarantees plenty of attention from "development" people who wine and dine you and kiss your big black ass. You then hire the entire family to consult at extravagant salaries. And so on for years and years.

[onenote]

16. bad guarantee

Try reading the story first.

onenote

[Julius Civitatus]

5. Abramoff charities? Neil Bush charities?

Which is it?

[Synnical]

6. "the Cheneys are entitled to a refund of $1,938,930. . . ." n/t

[WhiteTara]

8. great scam! Give 6.9 mil of paper money on

8.8 mil of paper money and get a cash refund of almost 2mil. Greatest scam on earth. Too bad we are the suckers.

[onenote]

15. except that's not what happened

He wrote a check for over $2million and got back slightly under $2 million

[WhiteTara]

21. so it was a shell game and he still got to

have a fabulous deduction for his paper money. :shrug:

[Synnical]

24. Not exactly

The Cheneys taxable income was reported as $1,961,157, which according to the 2005 tax tables means they owed $529,636 in federal income taxes. About 27%. The Cheneys paid $2,468,566 in taxes through "withholding and estimated tax payments." Which means they get a refund of $1,938,930. Simple math there.

However, the "estimated tax payments" is a misnomer. The money was "withheld" from Cheney's stock options payments, thus he benefited, tax wise, from the stock options. It's paper money, as BareNakedLiberal stated.

Will post more on this tomorrow. (I'm an accountant, but not a CPA, and not a tax accountant.)

Cheers.

[onenote]

25. it was reported that he wrote a check for over $2 million in December

In addition to the amount withheld and sent to the IRS, cheney wrote a check for over $2 million to the gift administrator (not the IRS) in December 2005 "to enable the gift administrator to maximize the charitable gifts in 2005, the year in which the options were exercised." Based on that, I'm not sure its correct to characterize the transaction as involving only "paper money".

onenote

[WhiteTara]

7. which charities? Ones he set up to benefit him?

Why didn't he just pay taxes like a good citizen? That amount of money could have really paid down our deficit.

[Synnical]

11. These are the charities:

George Washington University Medical Faculty Associates, Inc. for the benefit of the Cardiothoracic Institute, the University of Wyoming for the benefit of the University of Wyoming Foundation, and Capital Partners for Education for the benefit of low-income high school students in the Washington, D.C. area.

[Divernan]

19. GW Thoracic Institute is where Cheney would go for heart transplant

It is part of the GWU Medical Center, and is where he goes for treatment. The only thing he hasn't had done yet is a heart transplant. When it comes time for that, of course, the Thoracic Center will have to find a donor heart to match up with Cheney and that can take time, particularly if there are a lot of other recipients ahead of Cheney waiting for a donor. Now I hate to SHOCK any lurking Cheney apologists, but in the transplant world, it ain't too hard for doctors to justify jumping a celebrity to the top of the list, by simply saying he was a better match than the other potential recipients. Here in Pittsburgh, back in the 80's, a whole hell of a lot of royal family Saudis, who paid the hospitals top dollar and "tipped" their surgeons and other medical personnel little goodies like Rolex watches, got bumped ahead of many Americans. I know because one of my law school classmates was married to a surgical resident who was on the transplant team. It also happens when someone very famous, a sports figure or politician, is in need of a heart, even without a bribe. That's because it's such a lot of free publicity for the hospital/transplant surgeon.

Mark my words. After a multi million dollar donation, when Cheney has a major cardiac failure, he'll get that new heart in about 24 hours.

[WhiteTara]

20. Thanks, I checked out the Board and look who

is on the Lord Acton Board...Rabbi Daniel Lapin, Toward Tradition. Good ole Abramoff's pal. The Rights' "New Rabbi". They twist their slimy trail through everything. I don't know names so much, but I thought a little googling would be invaluable. Here is the lowest hanging fruit. Anyone who knows these guys?
http://www.acton.org/ppolicy/compassion/charities/search.php?id=133
Acton Institute's Board of Directors

The Acton Institute's activities are governed by a Board of Directors. Each member of our board believes in the importance of the Acton Institute's work to promote the compatibility of faith and freedom.

Mr. David Humphreys - Chairman, Tamko Asphalt Products
Dr. Alejandro A. Chafuen - Secretary, Atlas Economic Research Foundation
Rev. Robert A. Sirico - President, The Acton Institute
Mr. Barry Conner, America's Home Place
Mr. Robert Costello, Robert W. Baird & Co. Incorporated
Mr. Frank Hanna III, HBR Capital, Ltd.
Mr. Alejandro Garza-Lagüera, Savia, S.A., Pulsar International
Mr. David Milroy, Flatrock Capital Management LLC
Mr. J.C. Huizenga, National Heritage Academies
Mr. Sidney J. Jansma, Jr., Wolverine Gas and Oil Corporation
Rev. Ren Broekhuizen, Pastor (Retired), Ridge Point Community Church
Mrs. Carol Erickson Martino, Consultant, Ambrosetti Group

Acton Board of Advisors
Dr. William B. Allen, Michigan State University
Mr. Doug Bandow, Citizen Outreach
Rev. John Michael Beers, Pontifical College Josephinum
Mr. F. Joseph Bradley, Bradley Enterprises, LLC, dba Investors Hotline
Dr. Rocco Buttiglione, International Academy of Philosophy
Sr. Connie Driscoll, St. Martin de Porres House of Hope
Dr. Rufus Fears, University of Oklahoma
Rev. Joseph Ganssle, OFM, Marian Associates
Dr. Steve Hanke, Johns Hopkins University
Dr. James C. Holland, Shepherd College
Mr. James L. Johnston, Amoco Corporation (ret.)
Rabbi Daniel Lapin, Toward Tradition
Dr. Leonard P. Liggio, Atlas Economic Research Foundation
Dr. Jennifer Roback Morse, George Mason University
Dr. Ronald Nash, Reformed Theological Seminary
Mr. Michael Novak, American Enterprise Institute
Rev. James Sadowsky, SJ, Fordham University
Rev. James V. Schall, SJ, Georgetown University
Mr. Harry Veryser, Walsh College

[Synnical]

22. It's the voucher scam people

You know, take funding away from public education and give it to religious schools . . .

-Cindy in Fort Lauderdale

[WhiteTara]

23. Of course. I'll bet he has an interest

in it somewhere. Turning education into madrassas. Brave new world, here we come.

[berni_mccoy]

9. OH WAIT A SECOND HERE: MAX CHARITY DEDUCTION IS 50% of AGI

He shouldn't be getting credit for nearly 78%!!!!

The most he could LEGALLY claim is 4.4 Million.

LET'S SEE THESE "CHARITIES" !!!!

[npincus]

10. not sure I get it....

the Cheney's donated almost 80% of their 2005 gross income to charity, and taxes withheld accordingly. I am probably not understanding this, but where's the scandal? I hate the bastard, but not sure what's wrong here.

[Gormy Cuss]

12. Have you read 'Perfectly Legal'

by NYT writer David Cay Johnston?
The wealthy have innumerable 'charitable' ways to keep more of their money than they would if they paid taxes.

The three charities were:
George Washington University Medical Faculty Associates, Inc. for the benefit of the Cardiothoracic Institute
The University of Wyoming for the benefit of the University of Wyoming Foundation,
Capital Partners for Education for the benefit of students in the Washington, D.C.

If I had the time or inclination, I'd dig up the information on each of these, especially the last two which sound like the sort of charities established for an income tax avoidance game.

[npincus]

18. thanks

I am sure when it comes to the Cheneys, "charitable" means being charitable to themselves.

[izzybeans]

14. Supposedly he claimed as a defense to the charges about his

conflict of interests that he would not claim deductions from the stock options.

STOCK OPTIONS: The Vice President has signed an agreement to donate any profits from his stock options to charity, and has pledged not to take any tax deduction for the donations. Should Halliburton's stock price increase over the next few years, the Vice President could exercise his stock options for a substantial profit, benefiting not only his designated charities, but also providing Halliburton with a substantial tax deduction.

http://www.halliburtonwatch.org/about_hal/ethics.html

http://lautenberg.senate.gov/~lautenberg/press/2003/01/2003925A22.html

[Virginia Dare]

17. There's a lot of money in whoring apparently...n/t