"Tom Daschle is “deeply embarrassed and disappointed” that he botched his taxes, and today he’ll make his way to Capitol Hill to tell a panel of senators just how sorry he is. Having just confirmed another repentant tax botcher to run the IRS, the Senate will now weigh Daschle’s sin.

Almost all of the back taxes stem from Daschle’s work for InterMedia, run by longtime Democratic donor Leo J. Hindery Jr. Somewhere in the flurry of millions, InterMedia failed to report one of Daschle’s monthly payments – $83,000 – to the IRS. Daschle’s spokeswoman says that was a mere clerical error.

And then there’s the car and driver. Hindery provided Daschle with the use of his chauffeured limousine, which Daschle’s spokeswoman says [3] he “naively” believed was “nothing more than a generous offer from a friend.” (Daschle used it to raise money for the firm, she said [4].) But Daschle’s naïveté seems short lived, because last June, according to the spokeswoman, he mentioned the generosity to his accountant.

It’s unclear what happened over the following six months, but finally in January, after Daschle’s nomination to be secretary of Health and Human Services, but shortly before he submitted his financial disclosure to the Senate, he paid up. He’s subsequently agreed to pay $6,000 more to cover Medicare taxes on the driver.

The final bit of back taxes stems from $15,000 in charitable contributions to an Indian reservation that lacks the IRS’s required paperwork. Put that all together with interest, and the toll is around $146,000."

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Daschle and How to Make $5 Million Without Really Trying (ProPublica 2/2)

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