Clintons Underpaid Taxes

Just last week, Bill Clinton decried the Bush tax cuts as "unethical" and "immoral," because they allowed wealthy folks like himself to avoid "paying their fair share."

And Hillary, of course, has argued for years for higher taxes. She told wealthy San Francisco contributors during the 2004 presidential campaign, for instance, that if Democrats win, "we're going to take things away from you on behalf of the common good."

But in his blockbuster new book "Do As I Say, [Not As I Do]," Peter Schweizer blows the lid off the Clintons tax hypocrisy.

Schweizer sets the table with a quote from the former first taxpayer himself:

I must be the only person in America that every time - I pay the maximum tax rates - every time I sign that tax form, I smile," Clinton recently explained.
However, as Schweizer discovered, the Clintons have been paying a good deal less than their fair share in taxes for years.

"A study of their income tax returns reveal that, since 1991, the Clintons paid on average about 7 percent less to the IRS than others in their income group," he writes. "While most Americans in their bracket were paying 27 percent in taxes, the Clintons were bumping along at 20 percent."

How did Bill and Hill keep their taxes so low? They did it the old fashioned way - they cheated.

According to a Money Magazine report unearthed by Schweizer, "The Clintons appear to have repeatedly overstated their charitable contributions."

What's more, according to Gaines Norton, the former first couple's one-time accountant, some of the Clintons' deductions were "probably illegal"
Norton told Whitewater probers that when he urged Mr. Clinton to pay his fair share, the then-Arkansas Governor told him: "Back off and leave the issue alone."

Other tax dodges employed by Bill and Hill include:


Not reporting as income Hillary's $100,000 in profits from commodities trading. Instead, says Schweizer, they actually claimed a loss.

The Clintons also failed to report as income "$74,234 in loans, payments, and forgiven debts that the IRS code counts as income."

Then there's the personal property tax that was due on a sportscar Hillary owned, which first couple declined to pay.

They also took thousands of dollars in deductions on their Whitewater investment that "Hillary admitted at the time she knew they were not entitled to."

In a bid to further reduce their tax exposure, the Clintons set up a contract trust, which "among other things will allow them to substantially reduce the amount of inheritance tax their estate will have to pay when they die."
Given all the cash Clinton was saving by shortchanging the federal treasury, it's no wonder he was smiling when he signed his tax return.