Eight members of Congress, 22 Senators, buck the system

[lovuian]

http://feeds.bignewsnetwork.com/?sid=45338bfa28b35568

Big News Network.com Wednesday 26th October, 2005

Members of the U.S. Congress have been paying the District of Columbia thousands of dollars to cover a homestead tax exemption to which they aren't entitled.

Many people who live in the District of Columbia are eligible for the property tax exemption, but not if they are registered to vote in another jurisdiction -- a situation that covers House and Senate members.

Recent media investigations showed many politicos savings thousands because of the exemption. The Hill newspaper said at least eight members of the House Ways and Means Committee were receiving the break and The Kansas City Star said 22 senators were getting the tax benefit
more...

There is no list of who the Senators are???

[rpannier]

1. That's a list I want to see

[KT2000]

2. Me too

something else I would like to see are the health plans available to members of Congress - and their cost for coverage.

[RobertSeattle]

3. Property taxes are usually public record

...so some enterprising journalist should figure it out.

[nostalgicaboutmyfutr]

4. enterprising journalist ....

isn't that an oxymorAn?

[Rose Siding]

5. The names are in this article

(the Dems from Ways and Means would have had NO control over writing any tax laws that favored them)

snip>
Rep. Nancy Johnson (R-Conn.) occupies a handsome beige-and-white bay-front, flanked on her left by Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.) and on her right by Rep. Clay Shaw (R-Fla.). Rep. Chris Chocola (R-Ind.) lives two doors down from Shaw, and Rep. Mark Foley (R-Fla.) lives next to him. Reps. Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas) and Jim Ryun (R-Kan.) live right across the street.

Five of the seven lawmakers — everyone except Chocola and Ryun — have been erroneously claiming a homestead tax exemption on their homes for the past four years, an arrangement that has saved them thousands of dollars in District of Columbia property taxes.

The Hill identified at least eight lawmakers from the 41-member Ways and Means Committee — some 20 percent of the panel — who have been wrongly receiving the homestead exemption and a related tax cap. Those members are Johnson, Shaw, Foley and Doggett, as well as Reps. John Linder (R-Ga.), Jim McDermott (D-Wash.), John Tanner (D-Tenn.) and Mike Thompson (D-Calif.). The Ways and Means Committee is responsible for writing federal tax laws.

After The Hill contacted the members in September, all but Tanner have changed their status and are paying tax adjustments as far back as 2000, depositing nearly $34,000 in the District’s coffers. A spokesman for Tanner said he too is planning to take steps to eliminate the credit.

http://www.hillnews.com/thehill/export/TheHill/News/Frontpage/102605/news1.html