McCain's Tax Returns Hide Gambling
Senator John McCain is a gambler. If I'd known that right away I would have immediately seen what was wrong with his tax returns.
I am a tax attorney, so a tax return means more to me than it would to most. I reviewed McCain's tax returns as a basic check on the candidates. You can look at McCain's 2006 and 2007 tax returns for yourself. The tax returns are below a lot of verbiage about his charitable activities.
According to a New York Times article of September 27, 2008 "For McCain and Team, a Host of Ties to Gambling," reported by Jo Becker and Don VanNatta Jr., McCain gambled at the MGM Grand in May 2007.
Apparently McCain is a habitual gambler; he usually plays craps. He even says, "I am a gambling man."
Gambling has tax implications. According to IRS Publication 17, "Your Federal Income Tax", 2007 edition, page 89 "Gambling Winnings. You must include your gambling winnings in income on Form 1040, line 21. If you itemize your deductions on Schedule A (Form 1040), you can deduct gambling losses you had during the year, but only up to the amount of your winnings." In other words, you can't subtract your losses from your winnings and just not report. You have to report the winnings, and then claim the losses.
But McCain's tax returns say nothing about gambling winnings or losses.
As a casino gambler, McCain is likely to have lost more than he won. But by not reporting his winnings, the different percentage calculations built into the tax calculation are thrown off, and if he gambled much at all, he has underpaid his tax. The amount of understatement of tax may be minimal, but that's not the point.
The real purpose of preparing his tax return and omitting the gambling winnings is so that people would not know how much he gambled. If he won $200,000 playing craps in Las Vegas, it would make a difference in the way voters viewed his suitability as a presidential candidate.
There are circumstances under which the tax returns could be correct, such as McCain gambled once in 2007, not at all in 2006, and lost everything the one time he gambled. Such an explanation is unlikely in light of McCain's alleged long history of gambling.
I think we are looking at tax returns calculated to hide an aspect of the candidate. My 35 years of experience in taxes tells me these tax returns are wrong, and we do not know the true scope of McCain's gambling or of his potential obligations to gambling enterprises.
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After working for the IRS for 28 years I can tell you in my expeiences with upper management, all the way to IRS Commisioner Rosotti, they ignore much more flagrant abuses than this one. I'll repeat for you what I told the National Office of the IRS when I worked there, "the IRS is guilty of waste, fraud (constructive) and mismanagem
This should get bumped to the center column for higher visibility. If it gets any traction in the MSM, then the McCain camp will have to respond. Either McCain will have to deny that he is a gambler, in which case eye witnesses will likely start coming out of the woodwork saying that he's a player. Alternatively, he could say he gambled and his tax returns are an unfortunate mistake in which case he earns another black mark in the eyes of no-gambling fundamentalists.
If it doesn't hit the radar screen, he doesn't have to respond.
McCain being a gambler sheds light on his "erratic" behavior.
He's predictable in his reckless impulsivity, and a self-annointed "gambling man" should not be gambling with America's future.
One way of sharing the wealth.
McCain seems to be makinf political gambles during this campaign.
a. Selecting Palin to rejuvenate his campaign and garner women's votes.
b. Cunducting smear attacks rather than addressing the issues facing America.
c. Hiding at the side and mostly behind the skirts of Palin, his running mate.
d. Avoiding full disclosure of his health records.
e. Etc., etc., etc.
Why are not more media outlets picking this up ? Why aren't more people talking about this, esp. in light of the recent attacks by the McCain/Palin camp on the Obama campaign ? This really needs to get reported on-- I think this is a serious problem McCain has, esp. if he's betting $50K at a time. .
Craps is a tough way to beat the house. I suspect he lost more than he won. Gambling is simply a vice. it's not like the guy cheated on his wife.
Excuse me. He did cheat on his wife, He cheated on wife # one when she
lay on her sick bed. And guess what he cheated with wife # two on wife # one....
Please Query
I know that McCain cheated on his wife. I was attempting to make a funny comment. Call it a swing and miss. McCain liasons with Cindy Lou began while he was still maried. I believe that adultery is a violation of the Navy's code of conduct. Cindy was also married at the time.
ha ha ha ha ha ha ah...
most clueless post of the day (unless you are ignorant of the facts, of course)...
Right, it is a vice, but it is inappropriate for a politician with his ties to the gambling industry to gamble as much as is reported. I'm just putting this out there as food for thought: what if he looses 20-50 large on one of his "binges" and the casino owner, who is a friend, just decides to take his debt off the books. I'm sure his friend would not expect anything in return, right? I don't think we will ever know if or how many times this has happened, but it is the realm of possibility.
So if he's just a recreational gambler, fine. But if he's plunking down a lot of money, then one really has to question this part of his life. And, proper tax returns would have shown this.
My brother in law is a craps dealer. McCain would come in and take a $50,000 line of credit when he played at the craps (dice) tables.
but will he simply roll the dice when it comes
to making decisions about foreign policy. hhmm.
McCain seems to be makinf political gambles during this campaign.
a. Selecting Palin to rejuvenate his campaign and garner women's votes.
b. Cunducting smear attacks rather than addressing the issues facing America.
c. Hiding at the side and mostly behind the skirts of Palin, his running mate.
d. Avoiding full disclosure of his health records.
e. Etc., etc., etc.
I'm less concerned about McCain's alleged gambling issues than I am about his very real medical issues.
Why won't he release all his medical records - not a small selected portion of them for a three hour period?
What is there to hide? Whatever it is, it's obviously a deal breaker!
He will not release them because he has something to hide.
May be Palin did not slip when she said Palin and Mccain Administration
Here is the Mavrick theme song. Words and music.
http://www
Come November, he'll have to fold his losing hand and walk out of the Maverick Saloon into the sunset with McPalin next to him. Adios muchaco and muchaha.
join me TODAY
www.ObamaM
Now it makes sense. Reruns of the horse opera "Maverick" (1957-1962) are all about a wild west gambler (played by the charismatic James Garner.) That's probably why , as Maureen Dowd pointed out, this pair of so-called mavericks have branded themselves. You can see the lyrics of the Maverick theme song here
http://off
The blogger points out that Ms Palin may be mistaking Maverick for the wannabe mustang without muscle launched in the 70s as a cooler version of a Ford Falcon.
It would seem lame if it were not so dangerous
Is palin Ms Kitty on Gun Smoke ?????????/
His biggest gambling mistake date? Palin
Okay, McCain admits he's a gambler. Gosh darn, that's a great quality to have when you are running the country. He gets to gamble on national security, the economy, global warming . . .. And he's also a maverick. What a great combination. Thank goodness that we will be blessed with Sarah as our vice-president. She's so cute, and isn't that was is really important when selecting a vice-president? Can you imagine the conversations between Sarah and Putin, or Sarah and any other leader? It's a nightmare scenario.
He's going "all in" with only one queen.
And, it explains WHY he stated, "the fundamentals are strong". Spoken like a true gambler. Always wishin and hopin that the next throw of the dice will be the one. No wonder he went along with having Palin as his running mate. Think about it: he's been running his campaign like he gambles, a manic, obsessive-
Yhanks ,you said it all !!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The fact that he is a gambler is important. Gamblers are trained, or conditioned if you will, to engage in behavior that will make them a net looser in the long run. The random, but with less than even chances of winning, reward structure creates someone who lets irrational hope guide their decision making. We do not need that kind of decision making in the office of the President of the United States.
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