Dionne Warwick Sings Bankruptcy Song to IRS

Dionne Warwick, whose music has consistently sold since her debut in the 1960s, filed for Chapter Seven bankruptcy this week. It turns out the singer owed the IRS over a million dollars in back taxes. According to an article in Rolling Stone, Warwick tried to pay what the feds were due. However, penalties and interest foiled her efforts to set the books straight with Uncle Sam and, presumably, state government tax authorities.

The 72-year-old Warwick can now move forward financially, although her credit score is probably shattered for the remainder of her days. Don't be surprised if Dionne makes a lot of personal appearances, so that she can make her reported $20,000 per month "living expenses."

Congress Shares Romney's Reluctance to Reveal Tax Returns

First Page of Mitt Romney's
2010 Federal Income Tax Return
(from Washington Post)

There's little doubt Mitt Romney has screwed the pooch on his tax return release. The feeling the presumptive GOP presidential candidate has something shocking to hide just won't go away.

Ironically, some of Romney's harshest Congressional critics have also avoided sharing their tax returns with the voting public. According to a story in today's online edition of The Miami Herald, virtually no member of Congress will offer a detailed revelation of their tax history. The laws regarding Congressional tax transparency are unsurprisingly opaque. They effectively make it difficult to determine what areas of the tax code a House representative or US senator might be sensitive to.

Some of the Democrats' loudest anti-Romney voices hide behind these convenient laws. Among them are Nancy Pelosi, whose husband is a significant Bay Area venture capitalist and real estate owner. Another is South Florida's Debbie Wasserman Schultz, the Democratic National Committee's chairwoman.

Gary Ackerman, a New York Democrat who is not seeking re-election, stated the matter in bitter terms.  "'First your publishers and editors and execs should publish their tax returns. They have great influence over public policy,'" he suggested. Meanwhile, a spokesperson for a GOP House member from South Carolina complained that reporters were not demanding Barack Obama's college records. Some people just don't get it.

The response from Senator Jay Rockefeller's office was characteristic of the attitude of the nation's 100 senators and 535 congressional representatives: "Thanks, but we will not give you Senator Rockefeller's tax return. Good luck with your project."

Luck you, too, senator.

Google's Tax Strategy

Steven Pearlstein in today's Washington Post offers an interesting, troubling opinion piece on multinational corporations' tax strategies. He focuses on Google, and the firm's elaborate tax avoidance schemes. Pearlstein's brief descriptions of Google's cagey, international money movements and corporate structures cast light on a corrupt system. As Pearlstein points out, Google's pushing its duty to shareholders as a sort of human shield against criticism is bullshit, plain and simple. He notes that small businesses, who lack the army of fixers to make tax liabilities vanish, tend to pay higher taxes than "do no evil" Google.

Of course, one understands the awkwardness of criticizing a firm that provides the forum for this blog. However, it's in the public interest, and Google's ultimate interest, to pay its fair share for the common good in the United States. That statement should be written, here and elsewhere, and acted upon, without delay.

The photograph shows the Cayman National Bank building in Grand Cayman.