Here's another story you can file in the "Did McCain really vet Palin?" department. The AP did a story on the furor over the travel habits of both Palin and Illinois' Rod Blagojevich. And today, it's greeting Palin in her hometown paper, the Anchorage Daily News.
Here's the money snippet:
Both the Republican candidate for vice president and Blagojevich, a Democrat, continued living in their homes outside the capital city after being elected to lead their states. And with reports that Palin took expense reimbursements while living at home and flies family members at state expense to events, both have been questioned about how and where they work.
As with Blagojevich, at least one tax expert says Palin's travel reimbursements raise questions about whether the Internal Revenue Service would consider some of them taxable fringe benefits.
I figured the MSM would eventually jump on the possibility of IRS problems. But whodathunk the AP would be first?
According to Bob Kamman, a Phoenix tax attorney who has several Senators on his client list, at least some instances where "First Dude" Todd Palin and/or the rest of her family flew on the state's dime are almost certainly taxable.
On one trip to New York, Bristol Palin accompanied her mother because she was invited, officials said. But she was not on business and performed no work for Alaskans, Kamman said.
"Her expenses are taxable compensation to her mother, no matter how much lipstick is used to make it look like something else," Kamman said with a reference to lipstick comments that have roiled the presidential campaigns this week.
But Kamman goes further, and even suggests a scenario where Palin's per diem could be taxable as well.
The per diem Palin received while in Wasilla could be taxable, too, Kamman said, if the IRS determined she was staying at home and working in her Anchorage office for convenience, not necessity.
Palin supposedly turned over seven years worth of tax returns to the McCain campaign during the so-called vetting process. If they'd really checked them out, shouldn't this red flag have popped up for her 2006 and 2007 returns? Oh, that's right--she wasn't really seriously considered until almost a week before McCain introduced her.
So we've already established the per diem affair has taken the sheen off Palin's squeaky-clean image. Now the next question--did she break the law as well?
Update: Let's make sure this gets legs ... digg it up!