President Obama must show his. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton chooses to show hers.
The “his and hers” I refer to are tax returns. Senators and congressmen are required to file complex financial disclosure documents. Some go farther.
Every year the president of the United States shows us his federal tax returns. They reveal how much money he made in salary from the U.S. Treasury, any profits or losses he might have taken from investments, the cost of child care and such. Norton volunteers her tax returns, her office tells me.
What about our elected officials down here in the nation’s capital? Do we citizens have the option — dare I say the right — to examine tax returns of the mayor and D.C. Council members?
No and no.
As I read the proposed new ethics reform law and listened to Monday’s testimony, I wondered why our brave political leaders couldn’t cut to the chase, keep it simple and do what the president does: make their tax returns public.
Mayor Vince Gray and Council Chairman Kwame Brown talk transparency. Why not walk the walk and open up tax returns for public inspection?
Some council members might balk at such a simple request. Let’s start with Marion Barry. It would have been easy for Barry to respond to the requirement that he show us his tax documents from 1999 through 2005. “Hey,” he would have said, “I didn’t file any tax returns.”
That response got Barry in hot water with the Internal Revenue Service and the U.S. Attorney. He pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor of failing to file. Is Barry paying taxes now? Good question. I hear his returns would show the government is taking funds from his wages to make sure he pays back taxes.
At-large Council Member Michael Brown might balk. He has had disputes with D.C. and federal taxing agencies: D.C. said he owned $14,000 in back property taxes; the IRS filed a $50,000 lien for failure to pay taxes dating back to 2004. He paid the $14k when it became public.
If Ward 5 Council Member Harry Thomas Jr. had known he had to make his tax returns public, perhaps he would have been more careful about accounting for public funds that might have wound up paying for his new ride.
I doubt lawyers on the council would be thrilled to make their tax returns public. Jack Evans, David Catania, Jim Graham, Mary Cheh, Tommy Wells and Vincent Orange are attorneys. Their $125,000 annual salary is considered a part-time gig. They are free to work for law firms, teach law, consult. For how much?
More importantly, for whom? The second level of transparency should be an accounting of every dollar earned outside the city council salary: every client, each paid speech, every free ride, meal, gift, junket.
Simple transparency will require no bureaucracy, no funding, no change in the Home Rule Charter — just a little sunlight, like the kind that shines on the White House and Congress.
Any volunteers?
Harry Jaffe’s column appears on Tuesday and Friday. He can be contacted at [email protected].
