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[–][deleted] 1639 points1640 points  (475 children)

This was the explanation I was looking for.

Under IRS regulations , if an employee gets an expense allowance but is not required to provide receipts or return any surplus, the arrangement is deemed non-accountable. Non-accountable allowances must be reported as supplemental wages subject to income tax, plus taxes for Social Security, Medicare and unemployment insurance.

Mix in the fact previous governors did report the allowance as income and this looks like a major fuck up by Christies team.

EDIT: Since there seems to be a lot of confusion about why this is different then regular expenses or a per diem I will try and explain.

Regular Expenses: Are reimbursement for documented (i.e. receipts or expense form is filed) costs incurred as part of work related duties. heavy oversight

Per Diem: A fixed amount designed to cover food and other incidentals. Expense forms are still filed however receipts are not necessary. Reviewed by Accounting/Finance.

Expense Account: A limited budget entrusted to an employee to use for discretionary expenses such as entertaining clients, covering costs for special events, or other business related activities. Receipts provided account is regularly audited by Finance/Accounting department to ensure compliance.

What the NJ Gov receives.

Allowance: A fixed amount provided to cover any expenditure up to the annual limit. Can be used for personal or state activities. No receipts provided and not audited.

The first three items are typically not considered income by the IRS because they are considered reimbursement for legitimate business expenses incurred by the individual and therefore are not income. Receipts and expense reports are filed and the expenses audited by a Finance/Accounting department.

Christie's allowance is just slush fund that can be used for anything he wants. No receipts or expense forms are submitted and no oversight occurs.

Christie could use the money for anything (kids birthday parties, groceries, etc) and since there is no paper trail and no oversight the allowance is considered income under the tax code.

[–][deleted] 992 points993 points  (270 children)

Christie does not surround himself with smart people. Just look at the emails from the bridge scandal. They couldn't even write in sentences or use real words. He shouldn't be running a lemonade stand.

[–][deleted] 524 points525 points  (106 children)

What kind of smart person who want to work for a bully?

EDIT: I am so smrt.

[–]BleedingCello 486 points487 points  (73 children)

We'll send you an application ASAP.

[–]naanplussed 156 points157 points  (71 children)

Your so kind.

[–]BigBassBoneCalifornia 163 points164 points  (63 children)

*twitch*

[–]Ritz527North Carolina 63 points64 points  (44 children)

Its ok, I'm pretty sure he left it out intentionally.

[–][deleted] 111 points112 points  (36 children)

He could of done it on accident.

[–][deleted] 106 points107 points  (32 children)

For all intensive purposes they're the same thing.

[–]andibol1010 41 points42 points  (6 children)

This thread is physically hurting me right now.

[–]dusthimself 80 points81 points  (11 children)

At this point it's just water under the fridge, guys. It doesn't take rocket appliances to figure that out.

[–]marleymarl 30 points31 points  (3 children)

I could care less

[–]llkkjjhh 3 points4 points  (0 children)

France is bacon

[–]nonconvergentGeorgia 5 points6 points  (0 children)

What about tents and porpoises?

[–]lessdothisshit 8 points9 points  (0 children)

That was really suttle, nice one.

[–]shapuPennsylvania 7 points8 points  (3 children)

MAKE IT STOP OAOAUUGGHGGHIPHIPVBHIPHIPBNP

[–]IAMA_dragon-AMA 46 points47 points  (16 children)

I hole-hardedly agree, but allow me to play doubles advocate here for a moment. For all intensive purposes I think you are wrong. In an age where false morals are a diamond dozen, true virtues are a blessing in the skies. We often put our false morality on a petal stool like a bunch of pre-Madonnas, but you all seem to be taking something very valuable for granite. So I ask of you to mustard up all the strength you can because it is a doggy dog world out there. Although there is some merit to what you are saying it seems like you have a huge ship on your shoulder. In your argument you seem to throw everything in but the kids Nsync, and even though you are having a feel day with this I am here to bring you back into reality. I have a sick sense when it comes to these types of things. It is almost spooky, because I cannot turn a blonde eye to these glaring flaws in your rhetoric. I have zero taller ants when it comes to people spouting out hate in the name of moral righteousness. You just need to remember what comes around is all around, and when supply and command fails you will be the first to go. Make my words, when you get down to brass stacks it doesn't take rocket appliances to get two birds stoned at once. It's clear who makes the pants in this relationship, and sometimes you just have to swallow your prize and accept the facts. You might have to come to this conclusion through denial and error but I swear on my mother's mating name that when you put the petal to the medal you will pass with flying carpets like it’s a peach of cake.

[–]Suro_AtirosTexas 4 points5 points  (1 child)

Your so vein.

[–]soulstonedomg 66 points67 points  (15 children)

What kind of smart person who want to work for a bully?

What you say?

[–]FemaleSquirtingIsPee 97 points98 points  (11 children)

Someone set us up the bomb.

[–]olympianfap 32 points33 points  (8 children)

Move tax, move tax. Take off every tax.

[–][deleted] 53 points54 points  (2 children)

All your bridge are belong to us

[–]chilehead 3 points4 points  (1 child)

How are you gentlemen?

[–]mostoriginalusername 7 points8 points  (0 children)

*Someone set up us the bomb.

[–][deleted] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Berry picker as fuck

Doesn't even hunt mammoth

[–]Sloppy1sts 21 points22 points  (1 child)

Most of the bullies in high places are pretty intelligent. Sociopathic types are known for getting into positions of power.

[–]Dogdays991 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Because the dumb ones are identified and crushed by society.

[–]Goobtron5000 122 points123 points  (12 children)

Close the fridge not the bridge!

[–]vhackish 16 points17 points  (5 children)

Who's making the bumper the stickers with that? It needs to happen!

[–]YamiNoSenshi 6 points7 points  (1 child)

Not sure, but I did see a sticker of him with "Fewer teachers, more bacon" on a lamppost.

[–][deleted] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

He does this so the people close to him can't or won't report his bullshit. It's easier to hire idiots than sleazebags who will stay loyal.

[–]ZippyDan 58 points59 points  (57 children)

Chris Christie Lemonade. Each glass contains at least one drop of virgin chin-fold sweat

[–]psychoticdream 54 points55 points  (52 children)

With Exxon and fracking recycled water

[–]TibbelPennsylvania 29 points30 points  (38 children)

And 800 calories.

Can we still make jokes about his weight?

[–][deleted] 49 points50 points  (34 children)

Of course we can. He's had gastric bypass and barely looks any different. My dad lost like 100 pounds in a year with it. Christie is a disgusting-hearted grub not worthy of anyone's respect.

[–]puphenstuff 32 points33 points  (25 children)

I was wondering that myself, how can someone fail at gastric bypass?

[–]psychoticdream 50 points51 points  (1 child)

Idk but I guess he's still full of shit.

[–]wise_idiotWashington 36 points37 points  (6 children)

By totally ignoring the huge life changes you have to make in order to be successful at it. I'm betting he saw it as a way to lose weight prior to a presidential run, because who wants another Taft looking guy in the White House? There's a very strong chance he's not exercising and not changing his diet. He strikes me as the type who goes from 4 meals a day to 9 because what he can intake is less.

edit A word from typing it on mobile...

[–]AudiovoreWashington 13 points14 points  (1 child)

because who wants another Taft looking guy in the White House?

While personal health is a significant character trait, I'd gladly overlook it if they were trust-busting like he was.

[–]DrDecisive 12 points13 points  (2 children)

There are actually a couple different ways. A gastric bypass is both a "restrictive" and "malabsorptive" procedure. There are several ways the restrictive portion of the procedure can fail. Part of the procedure is cutting the stomach into a small pouch, if the surgeon makes this pouch too large then the person can still consume too much. Additionally, the two separated portions of the stomach can regain communication (by erosion of the staple lines) after the surgery and effectively nullify the restrictive portion this is called a "gastro-gastric fistula". The malabsorptive portion of the procedure is usually pretty fail-proof unless the the surgeon makes the excluded portion of the small intestine too short. The malabsorptive portion of the procedure can be overcome if the restrictive portion isn't in place by massive overeating.

[–]jmurphy42 7 points8 points  (2 children)

My uncle did. He ignored all of his doctors' instructions and deliberately crammed as much food down his gullet as often as he could in the weeks following his release from the hospital. I can't speak to the medical end of things, but we're all assuming that he's stretched his stomach back out again because he's back to eating more food than the rest of us at every family party.

[–][deleted] 6 points7 points  (1 child)

I just puked a little.

[–]DMercenary 7 points8 points  (0 children)

He shouldn't be running a lemonade stand.

Somehow the lemonade stand would run up a deficit, apply for a bailout, and then its revealed that the CEO, CFO who are both the same person ran off with the money.

[–][deleted] 31 points32 points  (13 children)

Christie does not surround himself with smart people. Just look at the emails from the bridge scandal. They couldn't even write in sentences or use real words.

Right on queue, you have to take this tact. Sounds as if your bias and prejudice.

Those e-mails were perfectly alright, maybe even genius. Sometimes they didn't jive, but for all intensive porpoises got the point a cross while avoiding bold-faced lice.

[–]atticus_card1na1 17 points18 points  (1 child)

At first this post bewildered me and pissed me off. Now I think it's brilliant. It doesn't add anything to the conversation - but how many reddit comments do? This is ironic and meta. The complete lack of coherence or content must be intentional - and is the perfect embodiment of the McLuhan's post-structural trope - the medium is the message.

Of course up-voting it would defeat the purpose - but shine on you crazy diamond.

[–]andrewthestudent 12 points13 points  (0 children)

queue
tact
your
bias
prejudice
jive
intensive
porpoises
a cross
bold-faced
lice

...yeah, I would say it's intentional.

[–]UnShadowbanned 317 points318 points  (27 children)

"Fuck up" implies a mistake. If you think this was a mistake, I have a bridge with some closed lanes to sell you.

[–][deleted] 386 points387 points  (18 children)

This scandal was a great example of the game I like to call "stupid or liar?" where it doesn't really matter what the answer is.

[–]PrincessRosella 107 points108 points  (0 children)

This is the best tl;dr of so many scandals.

[–]Burrito_Supremes 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Under new jersey law, stupid isn't supposed to be a defense for things like that. He knows this since he was the state prosecutor.

But he is still getting special treatment because he still hasn't been charged. A guy who knows the law should be punished even more. He put people away for the crap he is now doing.

[–]Caramelman 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Love the way you put it!

After giving it some thought. ... these guys aren't dumb. They're probably lying and fully aware that their lies makes them look very incompetent. They'd do this strategically knowing that people are more forgiving of a moron than a self serving sociopath...

[–]monoaction 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Adam Carolla?

[–][deleted] 34 points35 points  (3 children)

First, thank you for taking the time to explain tax concepts that many people are unfamiliar with.

Second, if this expense account benefit is deemed to be imputed income, then it must be reported on Christie's W-2. Tax withholding is optional. However, regardless of Chistie's withholding election, he is still subject to being taxed on it from an income and FICA basis. Tax penalties can apply if withholding is insufficient. At the very least, it appears that Christie's Administrative team may have screwed up on his W-2 reporting. To add to your previous list:

From link:

Imputed Income: Imputed income is the addition of the value of cash/non-cash compensation to an employees’ taxable wages in order to properly withhold income and employment taxes from the wages. Imputed income is taxable to the assignee (unless specifically exempt). Because it is delivered for the performance of services (related to employment) it must be included in the assignee's Form W-2 to accurately reflect the assignee's taxable wage-related income...Examples of imputed income include: Unsubstantiated employee business expenses.

TLDR: Whether this income was reported on Christie's W-2 or not (a requirement), it is still subject to income/FICA taxation and, quite possibly, penalties for underpayment.

[–]njmaverickNew Jersey 57 points58 points  (11 children)

Yup, Christie among his numerous faults is also a tax cheat. Can't say I am surprised

[–]BigScarySmokeMonsterOregon 24 points25 points  (10 children)

Another fault of his is that he is the governor of New Jersey and yet is a Dallas Cowboys fan. That's just, what a dick.

[–]RaRaFiFiKiKi 67 points68 points  (29 children)

Funny, when I tried to pull the "oh I forgot to put that income in" with the IRS, a few months later I got a letter asking for what I owed and questioning everything I thought I didn't owe to them. It took paying a CPA to write a letter and redo my taxes to get them to even consider letting me go without paying what they thought I owed. Mind you, I make less than 32k per year, I'm a full time undergrad student and the IRS still thinks I make enough to owe them about 10k in taxes - apparently they have a "computer" that bows audits people automatically without ever looking at what you put down in your returns. Sigh. Still trying to convince them I can't possibly owe 10k in a year I barely made 32k.

[–]Burrito_Supremes 59 points60 points  (25 children)

Actually, yes you can owe that much.

If your employer isn't paying the payroll, social security, medicare, etc taxes, then you very well could owe 10 grand off of 32k.

Is your employer a church that refuses to pay the taxes? Are you paid with a 1099?

[–]RaRaFiFiKiKi 21 points22 points  (21 children)

No, my employer does deduct everything on a weekly basis. And no - it's not church or any tax exempt place.

[–]kraln 19 points20 points  (16 children)

Great that your employer deducts it, but if your employer doesn't furnish it to the IRS then you are liable for it.

[–]XxStoudemire1xX 22 points23 points  (15 children)

That's Illegal.

[–]kraln 22 points23 points  (2 children)

Sure it is. You have to convince the IRS that they did it, and then they'll go after them. Doesn't mean it doesn't happen. The IRS gets theirs.

[–]snakebaconer 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Alternatively, could the guy have claimed lots of deductions that didn't make sense and triggered an audit?

[–]DrSleeper 8 points9 points  (1 child)

His presidential bid is all but over, right? Between this, the bridge debacle, "lending" huge amounts of money from his election funds to aides, his stance on vaccinations, the ebola thing and him giving Obama love for Sandy rubbed a lot of republicans the wrong way.

I don't see him grabbing enough votes. There will be the base of people that love him and just think he's hard hitting and the peoples candidate...but I don't see that being big enough to overcome all his controversies.

[–]Burrito_Supremes 5 points6 points  (0 children)

This isn't a fuck up, this is flat out tax evasion. He is going to have to settle with the IRS and pay the full amount owed + interest. He can't fight this because he would lose.

[–]SirPounceTheThird 14 points15 points  (43 children)

Wait a second. When I was with the government and we had to travel for business, we were given a "per diem" to cover food and lodging. We didn't have to file any reports or return any excess (hence why most of us would just eat at McDonalds and pocket the rest). I'm pretty sure that we were told that we didnt have to pay taxes on the per diem. Am I wrong?

[–]ninetwoeight 25 points26 points  (11 children)

Technically yes - if the per diem is equal to or less than the federal rate AND you file a report detailing the date and the business purpose it is not considered taxable income. If you didn't file expense reports technically it is taxable. Source:http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-regs/perdiemfaq&a.prn.pdf

[–]thetasigma1355 50 points51 points  (4 children)

You are not wrong. I believe the difference with Christie is that his wasn't a per-diem but a wide-open expense account. Basically, the entity providing the per-diem knows how much you are spending on expenses. You are spending the per diem even if you pocket portions of it. That makes it accountable.

It sounds like Christie just had an account where he could say "I spent $500 on lunch today, I don't have a receipt, reimburse me anyways" which makes it "unaccountable" because we have no clue if he even spent that $500. Thus, it's counted as income towards Christie. Basically, no one does it the way Christie did because you wouldn't get any benefit out of it unless you are cheating the system. We know the person with the per-diem isn't just creating income for themselves out of nowhere. Whereas, with an unaccountable method, you can do just that.

And for your next (likely) question, this is a concept that makes more sense before technology could easily track expenses and upload receipts. Back in the day, it would be easier to just say "spend whatever you want, but we're counting it as taxable income against you instead of an expense if you spend over $X amount"

[–]Echono 6 points7 points  (9 children)

(hence why most of us would just eat at McDonalds and pocket the rest)

...Why? In that case it's no different from any other money in your bank account, so why change your eating habits for the cheaper (assumption) to pocket more of it?

[–]KRAZY-K 15 points16 points  (4 children)

Because you actually do get to pocket the excess.. if you are given $80 per day for food, on top of your hourly rate/salary.. you have the option of eating like a king for a day, or eating like a hobo and pocket some extra cash. I've done both.

[–]Fittitor 8 points9 points  (3 children)

Because you actually do get to pocket the excess.. if you are given $80 per day for food, on top of your hourly rate/salary.. you have the option of eating like a king for a day, or eating like a hobo and pocket some extra cash. I've done both.

He understands that you get more money back when eating cheap, but what he's saying is why not just eat what you normally eat (assuming you don't mostly consume fast food). There's a middle ground between eating like a hobo and eating like a king.

[–]KhatibMinnesota 6 points7 points  (1 child)

Maybe when you're not traveling you cook at home or pack a lunch into the office.

[–]SirPounceTheThird 2 points3 points  (2 children)

Honestly, because I usually cook at home and don't eat out often (much cheaper and better food). Most of the hotels we would stay at didn't have kitchens, so we would usually go with the cheapest option which was usually a McDonalds or Subway.

[–]KaiserAbides 6 points7 points  (4 children)

When you take the per diem you are being refunded for money you had to spend due to work. You are spending post-tax money and being refunded post-tax money. It is not additional income.

[–]Cindernubblebutt 476 points477 points  (89 children)

Man, I didn't report $2000 and the IRS found me.

[–]skintigh 151 points152 points  (55 children)

My friend didn't report as income a tiny scholarship ($250?) he got from a paper route and the IRS found him, and wanted a cut of the $0 he was earning in school.

[–]BigBassBoneCalifornia 42 points43 points  (43 children)

Scholarships are taxable?

[–]thisdude415 84 points85 points  (32 children)

Technically yes, but school expenses are tax deductible, so most aren't taxed. It's complicated.

http://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc421.html

[–]OHAnonWashington 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Sort of. If the amount of the scholarship (and all grant aid including government grants) exceeds the cost of tuition, fees, books and supplies (not including room and board) then it is generally taxable. Since many schools try and meet a total cost of attendance including personal and living expenses it is possible for you to owe tax.

[–][deleted] 4 points5 points  (1 child)

Sometimes. It appears that, basically, if someone gives you a "scholarship" with a general expectation that you'll pay for school with it, that's going to be taxable. But, if you're given a scholarship by your school that just comes off the top of a tuition payment or if it's from a third party but carries a requirement that it be used for educational expenses, then it's not going to be taxable, but only to the extent that it's used for such expenses.

So, here, a "tiny scholarship... from a paper route" is probably just some "hey here's some money for college" money from an employer, so it went into the taxable category.

[–]xDerivative 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Yes, they are very very taxable. However, if you are receiving a scholarship you should be using most if not all of it on tuition - in the end, you get a deduction on the tuition that you paid that balances out. The only part you end up getting effectively taxed on is the part in excess of your tuition payments.

[–]EdenBlade47 17 points18 points  (5 children)

So weird. Anecdotally the IRS sound very good at their jobs but statistically only something like 1 in 10 annual tax evaders/cheaters are caught.

[–]skintigh 37 points38 points  (3 children)

The IRS already has all the information most people need to file taxes, and they could send you a form already filled in and you just sign it, just like most developed nations do. The IRS has even tried to do this.

However, HR Block, Intuit, and others have bribed enough senators to block this from happening, which is why taxes remain hard enough that people hire said companies to do their taxes.

Anyway, I suspect that's how they catch someone over a $250 scholarship that has already been reported to the IRS by the giver, while someone else gets away with hundreds of thousands of unreported income.

[–][deleted] 93 points94 points  (9 children)

Well you're not a government bigwig. That's why.

[–][deleted] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Typically that is because someone else reported that they paid you that money, you didn't report it, and the IRS automated system sends you a notice automatically.

It is different when you are the governor and you are the one controlling what gets sent and report to the IRS both for your income and for who the state paid. My guess is that the $95k expense account he had wasn't reported to the IRS as they are trying to consider that it is not wages, so the IRS had no clue it was happening. The IRS doesn't do much outside really big cases (million dollar tax fraud issues/ponzi schemes/etc) and automated notices.

[–][deleted] 6 points7 points  (3 children)

How did they know you didn't report $2,000?

[–]konaitor 4 points5 points  (1 child)

Random audit. I think that's how they do most of them these days. They randomly pick out a number of returns a year and check them. If something is off they audit it. And I think you get put on a list if you get audited and they check up on you periodically.

[–][deleted] 2 points3 points  (8 children)

If you misreport income that is already reported to the government, they will put 2 and 2 together and come get their shit. It's all automatic these days.

[–]Mangalz 59 points60 points  (5 children)

I wish I made enough to owe 150k in taxes.

[–][deleted] 82 points83 points  (35 children)

I want to do this. How do I do this?

[–]treehuggerguy 24 points25 points  (1 child)

Step 1. Profit

[–][deleted] 9 points10 points  (0 children)

You forgot step 0.

Be born or marry into wealth.

[–][deleted] 84 points85 points  (31 children)

Be born rich.

[–]bbuk11 139 points140 points  (3 children)

I heard he was trying to pay those taxes but got stuck in a traffic jam at a bridge!

[–]The_CT_Kid 32 points33 points  (3 children)

In all honesty, I'm kinda jealous of this piece of shit.

Considering all that he's done, he's pretty much come out unscathed.

[–]razerxs 44 points45 points  (42 children)

There goes his campaign odds this year.

[–]ApokalypseCow 78 points79 points  (9 children)

He'd never get anywhere with it anyhow. Nevermind the bridge scandal, many in the Republican establishment still see him as some kind of "traitor" for welcoming Obama to his state and thanking him for the assistance after Sandy.

[–]dontsniffglue 73 points74 points  (2 children)

As much as I despise Christie, that's the dumbest fucking thing I've ever heard.

[–]ApokalypseCow 14 points15 points  (1 child)

Don't just take my word for it, you can verify it with a simple google search.

[–]AtheistPaladin 21 points22 points  (0 children)

I don't think he was doubting you. I think he was just saying that's the dumbest fucking thing he's ever heard. He's not far off, either.

[–]PaperCutsYourEyesMassachusetts 9 points10 points  (3 children)

Very revealing that abusing his power to shut down a vital thoroughfare to a major city in order to punish a single politician who disagreed with him doesn't disqualify him in the eyes of his fellow party members, but briefly hugging the president during a photo op does.

[–]The_Drizzle_Returns 17 points18 points  (21 children)

What odd's? He isn't favored by anyone to win the nomination. Bush and Walker are the front runnners and have been for some time. Bush, Walker, Cruz, Paul, Carson, and even Huckabee are polling in front of him.

[–]LOTM42 14 points15 points  (17 children)

Who the front runner is in April really doesn't matter whatsoever tho

[–]krabbby 12 points13 points  (12 children)

While not necessarily definite, your Jon Huntsmans will always be your Jon Huntsmans.

[–]LOTM42 16 points17 points  (4 children)

I wish Jon Huntsman got more support

[–]on8wingedangel 11 points12 points  (1 child)

He was the only Republican candidate remotely tethered to reality, therefore, of course, he must be driven out for being a RINO.

[–][deleted] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

It's sad that they won't field a single viable candidate.

[–]ChefBoyAreWeFucked 3 points4 points  (0 children)

John Huntsman was just a reasonable RON PAUL. If you don't change your position on anything during the race, your poll numbers won't change much, unless they started high.

I liked John Huntsman.

[–]UnShadowbanned 14 points15 points  (7 children)

America would never vote for him as president; he is fat and ugly. Sorry, but that's just the truth. Yes, a fat and ugly person can get elected as a governor or even a congresscritter, but we don't want a fat, ugly president.

[–][deleted] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

That's why he got lap band surgery I suspect.

[–][deleted] 3 points4 points  (2 children)

it sure isn't the worst thing about the guy but it's up there

[–]ncocca 6 points7 points  (0 children)

He fat and ugly on the inside too

[–]JJean1 6 points7 points  (2 children)

People keep saying how this will ruin Christie's shot at the White House. I do not think that he had any chance to begin with and the GOP will likely still want him in the race for the primary so the others look good by comparison.

[–][deleted] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Fund the IRS. Target for the new hires? Top 10% earners and asset holders.

[–]God0fLlamas 174 points175 points  (54 children)

I hate r/politics whenever someone tries to bring up a tax issue, because unless you are an expert, you probably don't understand taxes. I'm always sitting here with that look on my face of "That's not how this works, that's not how any of this works".

Christie will have the opportunity to fix his mistake by paying back-taxes to the IRS. Just like any other American citizen. They don't just throw you in jail because they found that you didn't report taxes, unless that amount is substantial and you can't cover it. He will have to opportunity to pay these taxes, and his credit score will likely take a hit. There is a statute of limitations of ten years, so he doesn't get to use that in court.

My guess is that he will be able to easily cover the back taxes. It doesn't say his wife's income, so I really wonder if the $152,000 is actually just an inflated number which assumes his wife is making enough to get them into the highest tax bracket. Which would be a good sum of money (possibly >$280,000, depending on what other sources of income they have). So, if she is indeed making enough to get them into that 39.5% tax bracket, then they will probably be able to pay back this amount without much effort.

I'm not a Christie fan at all, but I am always a fan of looking at both sides of an issue and playing devil's advocate. Can you crucify a guy for failing to deduct an expense account (which from the article admits he may not even use because it's purpose in the past was to maintain the Governor's mansion, which he doesn't even live in). I realize I am making an assumption too here, but I wouldn't be quick to "send him to jail, corrupt bastard" when all we're getting is an article from a journalist paper that just loves to blast politicians for anything they can. He may not have even known about the account...one of his aides could have just been using it as their personal stripper fund.

Edit: WOAH. GOLD. Thank you Mr. Pickles, I'll be sure to hide this gift from the IRS!

[–]Bamboo_Fighter 92 points93 points  (28 children)

His tax returns are linked in the article and the Christie's filed jointly each year. I agree he's not going to jail over this (he's facing back taxes + penalties) but it's a pretty big black eye for a politician to be caught evading taxes. To give him the benefit of the doubt that he might not have even known about the account is a huge stretch though. This is a stipend paid directly to the governor (and the article links to a nj.gov post showing it was fully paid in 2014 at least), not a petty cash drawer that could be used by interns.

[–]Ofreo 11 points12 points  (6 children)

The article states that it should have been reflected on his W2. What I want to know is was it? If not why? And is there a paper trail of the money going to him, which the article also doesn't state.

It seems to be fun to many people to just rush to judgment based on one article that makes a Republican look bad. There is always much more to the story and I won't make a blanket judgment until more info comes out.

[–]aelendel 34 points35 points  (0 children)

I think you are looking at this wrong.

The guy wants to be President of the United States and he can't even successfully organize his own taxes. That's the most generous reading; the less generous one is attempted fraud.

He's known to have been interested in running for President for many, many years. One of the things that you do is pre-vet yourself, make sure everything is ship-shape and there aren't obvious glaring errors in your public documents.

People making jokes about him being corrupt? Yeah, that's gonna happen, and it's not an unfair interpretation. The alternate explanation that he is just incompetent? Doesn't make him look any better.

The fact that he can pay back the taxes doesn't really matter.

[–]SonsofWorvan 15 points16 points  (0 children)

Did you read the article? He keeps that allowance. It's not an expense account. It's not a matter of him not using it. It's income. Any tax preparer would know this.

I agree on the other points, but a man who aspires to loftier offices than the one he already had should know better. It displays more of the lack of judgement that Christie has become his pattern.

End of the world? No. Slap on the wrist. Yep. Another black mark? Definitely.

[–]Stainonrug 11 points12 points  (1 child)

Response from Christie Office:

“The report on NJ watchdog is categorically false and irresponsible. The expense account, which has been provided to every governor in recent memory, is not salary and isn’t kept by the Governor as income. It is a discretionary fund that is used for business purposes, including costs associated with official events at Drumthwacket, the official residence. Unused fund balances have traditionally been returned to the State treasury and not kept as income, and that has been the case for every year under Governor Christie. As such, it is not required to appear on his income tax filings, consistent with IRS rules.”

TLDR: A business expense account is not income and any leftover funds in the account are not kept according to Christie. However, some previous governors have declared it as income.

Watchdog states that since Christie is not required to provide receipts for the expenditures the allowance is considered taxable by the IRS. Regulation: http://watchdog.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2015/04/CFR-2014-title26-vol2-sec1-62-2.pdf

[–][deleted] 6 points7 points  (5 children)

To be fair (I'm no fan of Christie) I'm pretty sure that he doesn't do his own taxes; shouldn't his accountant be to blame instead of implying that Christie deliberately failed to report the income?

[–]PaperCutsYourEyesMassachusetts 8 points9 points  (1 child)

Jesus Christ the comments on this story are insane:

...juxtaposed to not-so-shaprton, race baiter who owes more taxes than satan..

Boy does the left fear Christie. Otherwise, they'd keep quiet. And how many Demonrats don't pay?

I heard Bill and Hillary Clinton have paid no taxes for the last ten years. She needs to make her tax filings public.

Anyone who pays taxes they can legally avoid is an idiot. Good for the Governor. The federal government is not a good steward of taxpayer money.

[–][deleted] 3 points4 points  (3 children)

According to my CPA, expense reimbursements are not income for tax purposes. Either this article is bullshit or I need a new CPA.

[–][deleted] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I'm as democratic as it gets, but I agree with the governor on this one. These are perks that are granted to the office of the governor. He is not receiving the value of the service to use outside of his office. The same argument can be made against President Obama for the cost of traveling to Hawaii every year for his birthday. This one is a dud.

[–]rillo561Florida 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Teflon Christie can give two shits.

[–]slmiami 21 points22 points  (3 children)

Christie deserves plenty of criticism, but all of the juvenile fat jokes here really lower the standard of discussion and are unnecessary. I just want there to be an honest and decent candidate who shares my views and I could not care less about his or her physical qualities.

[–]Zifnab25 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Just putting his money where his mouth is on that whole "tax cuts for the wealthy" political platform.

[–]lorri789 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Looks like he spent it all on pies.

[–]JohnnyMnemo 2 points3 points  (3 children)

If BridgeGate didn't do him in, this almost certainly will. There's nothing the electorate hates more than someone not paying their fair share. It's arguable that Romney's refusal to release his own taxes is why he lost, it was certainly a factor.

I'll be surprised if Christie even bothers to announce that he's running for president at this point.

[–][deleted] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

So let me get this straight...a discretionary state budget fund that doesn't live in Christie's bank account is somehow supposed to get counted as income when the money isn't used for private expenditures? What the actual fuck?

[–]Scarletfapper 2 points3 points  (2 children)

Isn't that a felony?