Sharon Leighow, Palin’s spokeswoman insists that “The amount of taxes owed is a private matter. If the governor collects future per diem, those documents would be a matter of public record.” That is not exactly the position taken by the GOP on the Obama nominee as well as Sen. Mark Begich, D-Alaska, who faces his own tax controversy.
Palin was charging $60 a day just to be at home in Wasilla since her technical residence is the Governor’s mansion. Thus, her own home was treated like a hotel stay in order to charge the state. Palin was clearly allowed to take this money and this may be the same rule in other states, but it seems a bit indulgent. I suppose the argument is that the Governor could have stayed in a hotel and that Wasilla is one of the bigger cities in the state.
Begich’s situation involved the back taxes he paid on a vehicle provided to him by the city when he was mayor.
This has not been a good week for Palin. First, colleagues reported that she appeared overly defensive at a recent meeting when asked about her plans for the new year as governor. Then her daughter Bristol gave an interview stating that abstinence is “not realistic” as a rule for teenagers — a position by Bristol that was already assumed. This follows a recent finding that Palin’s husband Todd and top aides were guilty of contempt in the Troopergate scandal.
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