Tom Petri won't be charged for the back taxes



Roll Call is reporting (sub. req'd) that the D.C. Office of Tax and Revenue won't impose any penalties on four members of Congress that were recently found to be illegally exploiting a tax break for D.C. homeowners. The representatives -- which include Phil Gingrey (R-Ga.), Steve King (R-Iowa), Tom Petri (R-Wis.) and Mike Rogers (R-Ala.) -- will only be charged for the back taxes they owe. Congressman Tom Petri of Wisconsin served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Somalia in the 1960's.

Tom Petri won't be charged for the back taxes

No Punishments for Homestead Tax Cheats

Roll Call is reporting (sub. req'd) that the D.C. Office of Tax and Revenue won't impose any penalties on four members of Congress that were recently found to be illegally exploiting a tax break for D.C. homeowners. The representatives -- which include Phil Gingrey (R-Ga.), Steve King (R-Iowa), Tom Petri (R-Wis.) and Mike Rogers (R-Ala.) -- will only be charged for the back taxes they owe. D.C. officials also announced that Rep. Betty McCollum (D-Minn.) was similarly found to be exploiting the tax break, and that many of the members only gained access to the break because of a city policy of granting it to new homeowners based on the status of previous owners. The tax break, known as the homestead exemption, offers District residents a deduction on the assessed value of their D.C. home and limits annual property tax increases. In 2005 22 senators were found to be taking advantage of it, even though it is limited to District residents (which members of Congress cannot be).

Links to Related Topics (Tags):

Headlines: April, 2009; RPCV Tom Petri (Somalia) ; Figures; Peace Corps Somalia; Directory of Somalia RPCVs; Messages and Announcements for Somalia RPCVs; Politics; Congress; Wisconsin

When this story was posted in April 2009, this was on the front page of PCOL:




Peace Corps Online The Independent News Forum serving Returned Peace Corps Volunteers

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