Okay, call me petty. I just couldn't resist this one.
Democratic presidential candidate Sen. John F. Kerry, D-Mass., has amended his 2003 income tax return because a $175,000 gain from the sale of artwork should have been taxed at the 28 percent capital gains rate on collectibles.
The discrepancy was noted by Bob McCombs, a certified public accountant from Denton, Texas, who read about the sale of a 17th century Adam Willaerts painting owned by the Kerrys and decided to check the senator's tax return. Although the Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003 (P.L. 108-27) reduced the capital gains rates for most equities to 15 percent and 5 percent, McCombs said, the "punitive" 28 percent maximum rate for collectibles remained unchanged.
According to McCombs, Kerry underpaid his taxes by $11,577.
An official statement from the Kerry campaign noted that the candidate filed an amended return April 15 "due to an accounting error." The amended return shows Kerry paid a total of $102,152 in federal taxes on $346,664 in taxable income last year. His total earnings of $395,338 came from his $150,000 Senate salary, the gain on the Willaerts painting, and royalties from his book, A Promise to Keep.
Kerry and his wife have elected the filing status "married, filing separately." Teresa Heinz Kerry, heir to a $500 million ketchup fortune, has declined to publicly release her own tax return.
I'll bet. But, hey, it must be comforting to know he's out there fighting for the little guy.
I'm so tempted to say he doesn't like Bush's tax cuts because he doesn't understand how they work, but that would be a cheap shot. Right? Yeah, blame the accountant.
Update: As often happens this time of year, I see I'm woefully behind. Viking Pundit had this last week. And he's funnier.
