Voter unrest seems to proceeding apace, David, as more eyes and minds have been opened.

“Just 8 percent of Americans want the members of Congress re-elected, according to a CBS News-New York Times poll taken nine months before roughly one-third of the Senate and the entire House.”

LINK.

I’m a little confused by this story. In Arkansas, state taxes are taken out of our paychecks so if you don’t file, it sometimes means you don’t want a refund because it’s usually small. Does Merrill Lynch not issue paychecks with deductions?

If he was a vice chairman for Merrill Lynch since 2007 and and worked at MSNBC and worked in NYC how did he avoid paying income tax and the NYC specific taxes? Can he run while doing time for failure to pay taxes?

Nothing surprising for a DLC laureate.

Harold Ford is really getting under the skin of haters, the Gillibrand supporters and some bloggers if they are now stooping to attacking him for paying taxes. He follows and gladly pays his taxes – federal, state and local. Accusations that he shielded income are stupid, ludicrous and desperate on the part of political adversaries.

For his first 2 years out of Congress, Ford maintained a Merrill office and taught at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, while maintaining his official residence in Tennessee. In early 2009, after being married for 8 months (and the 2008 election), he and his wife decided to make New York their official home. He has always followed federal and state tax laws meticulously. He remains a private citizen, but if he decides to run for Senate, I’m confident he will comply with all candidate financial disclosures. Period.

Are you his campaign manager?

Harold can be attacked on several levels. Carpetbagger, political nepotism, whore for the DLC, naked opportunist or all around nice guy. And that’s just bein’ nice.

“Ima Hogg” was a real person. [I spent several formative years in TX, so i know this stuff.]

Didn’t pay state taxes??? Boo-yah. This stuff just writes itself.

But thanks for being there and writing it as well.

Next question: how much MSM coverage will this get?

his campaign manager?

You mean, Pinch Sulzberger?

Some of those names have been scrubbed when I just looked, but George W Bush was still on the list.

Yeah, chrisjackson sounds suspiciously like “Ford spokeman Tammy Sun:”

“He will file all necessary personal disclosure and tax forms that candidates are required to file if he chooses to run.”

Oh, hell, he probably thinks “working for Merrill Lynch” makes him a New Yorker.

I’m surprised Republicans aren’t lining up to sign the draft Ford petition since a Ford nomination would make their candidate a shoo-in.

Bye Bye.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8a3mk9sp0oE

I’m assuming that if Ford showed TN as his home state, Merrill would only have been holding back Fed and FICA. It is then the responsibility of the taxpayer to get a “Non-Resident/Part-year Resident” tax form and file.

Which I have had to file in NY State at least 8 times over the years

It’s not that difficult to find and even fill out for someone not trying to duck taxes.

It’s funny how “fiscal hawks” often turn out to either be tax cheats or benefit from tax-law ripoffs.
I wonder how much of Ford’s income at Merrill is sheltered pretending that it’s long term capital gains.

JClausen I could not have said it better.

Harold Ford a Barack Obama wanna be, another double agent of the elites that will talk like a progressive and walk like a conservative.

Progressives must take back the party of FDR, from these moronic Neo-Liberals.

During the 2006 U.S. Senate campaign in Tennessee, Jackson did online grassroots blogging in support of Congressman Harold Ford Jr. and his bid for the United States Senate and served as Ford’s campaign chairman in Lawrence County. Jackson was recognized by Ford in his concession speech on election night.

Link

Here’s his Colbert appearance. Cringe producing. It was in February. At the end he admitted he had just registered to vote in NY, but hadn’t voted there yet.

Nice haircut. Or rug.

This is a no-brainer for Ford. Sure, NYC and state taxes are a pain. But Ford makes millions for doing whatever it is he claims to do for his investment bank. He performs much of his work in NYC, he maintains an office and is resident there a significant percentage of the days of the year. All of those facts make his earnings from a NYC employer subject to city and state tax.

That he hasn’t paid such taxes – for a man as learned as Harold and a company as sophisticated and well-resourced as Harold – could only have come about as the result of taking a knowing, intentional, calculated risk: flouting the law and keeping the money he owed in tax was more easily “managed” than missing out on the opportunity to run for elected office in either Tennessee or NY.

That sort of gaming the system and playing with the law and the city and state treasuries is not the sort of role model, or practical politics, that I would hope New Yorkers will reward. I hope, instead, that they ignore Mr. Ford as one more cheating banker in a city full of them.

The Dems in NY should have nothing to do with Ford. My opinion doesn’t matter since I’m not a NYer but they should be careful.

Ford has had his Fifth Ave apt for sale, on the market for a year.

LOL!!!

OMG, those walls are incredibly yellow. I just clicked through on the pics.

You would need sunglasses to live there ! That really is a rude color. :)

Did you notice what seems to be a study or bedroom with the dark blue walls?

Hmm.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_yellow

Yes, and I would be a basket case living with those colors. How could anyone rest or sleep with all that going on?

Why did you put that up?

Hard to imagine Harold having much use for a study.

Yep.

Yep to you too.

Peculiar color choice for an apartment. Southern term for a certain shade of skin color. Dipshit politician.

Here’s a Chris D. Jackson, who looks like the kind of person (big bucks) who is supporting Ford.

Here’s another one

When I was a lowly typist at Equitable Life in NYC (for half a year – but I did live in Brooklyn, which despite some opinions, IS in NYS), I filed not only a state income tax form but the aforementioned part-time tax form for NYC as well. If a lowly typist can do it, Ford can do it..unless of course, he’s trying to get away with not paying taxes..whoops, guess that’s what he did.

We should just stop all elections and auction off politicians. They’re for sale anyway, and we could get rid of all the campaigning and voting and stuff.

Chris Jackson was the name of a “blogger” in the 2006 Ford campaign. The blog has vanished but you can see traces of it here:

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2006/8/21/191033/552

That’s the one. From your link

During the 2006 U.S. Senate campaign in Tennessee, Jackson did online grassroots blogging in support of Congressman Harold Ford Jr. and his bid for the United States Senate and served as Ford’s campaign chairman in Lawrence County. Jackson was recognized by Ford in his concession speech on election night.

I rejected him because I didn’t know where Lawrence county is. Turns out it’s in TN.

The question, as Frank Capra’s Arsenic and Old Lace posed it, is whether Brooklyn is in the “US proper”, let alone part of NYC.

Does mommy still cut his hair? “g”

oops sorry Riesz, that’s the same link you put up

That one might be for real. I could see Bush wanting to see Ford in office.

Did someone say “Ford lived in NY’? If he did, he spent most of the time with the liars at Faux News. I thought he had a home there. People of NY are smarter than to elect this DINO to any office.

Hope you are right. It would be a farce.

Not so sure. The rule is a black man outvotes a white (blond) woman, dontcha know.

Ford’s moronic political self-disembowelment continues to be one of the most entertaining and enjoyable political stories I’ve watched unfold in a long, long time.

nyou have drank the kool-aid you are part of the 8%

I’ll sign that petition but I’m using my real name. I’m not afraid to do that. i do it here almost every day.

By the way, what do we care what this asshole Republican does?

Wait. Excuse me. My wife is…. What?… He what?? Harold Ford is a …………

Never mind.

Harold Ford is an opportunist plain and simple. This guy is running for office because Wall Street has informed him that they will put a lot on money in the campaign for him. The guy has already did a double flip on same sex marriage. That video from Tennessee will be his undoing. He definitely won’t be getting my vote.

Harold Ford a Barack Obama wanna be, another double agent of the elites that will talk like a progressive and walk like a conservative.

New on Fox TV next Season:

The Next Barack Idol

I count eight obvious misstatements in your first paragraph alone.

Is that you, Tammy?

It’s the old “Move Along, there’s nothing to see here!” defense.

Airtight!!!

If he worked any days at all in NYS or NYC, he should have filed “Non-Resident/Part-Year Resident” tax forms for both the city and state.

It seems he did not do so.

Whose bright idea was it to paint entire rooms with accent colors?
(At least the kitchen is white. Not that he’s likely to notice.)

(I do know people who painted their living room walls cobalt blue. But most of it was invisible, hidden by their bookcases and their artwork.)

He follows and gladly pays his taxes – federal, state and local. Accusations that he shielded income are stupid, ludicrous and desperate on the part of political adversaries

so you are saying that harold ford has paid his taxes in the state of New York for the past three years ???

if so, [Edited by Moderator.]

no ifs, no ands, no butts

chrisdjackson is [Edited by Moderator]

and not a good [Edited by Moderator]

he lies about stuff that is demonstrable false

chrisdjackson claims that harold ford pays his taxes, in a thread that offers CERTAIN PROOF that harold jackson did NOT pay his taxes

chrisdjackson is a [Edited by Moderator] even with the truth staring him in the face

wanna try [Edited by Moderator] some more, chrisdjackson ???

cuz I can list [Edited by Moderator] ALL DAY LONG

credibility is like virginity, you only lose it once

and chrisdjackson ain’t no virgin any more

[Mod Note: No personal attacks directed towards other commenters]

That’s just so wrong that I can’t stop laughing.

Apparently the smarter you think you are, you think others more stupid. Remember Timothy Geithner’s tax problems?

Once you have arrived as it were in the upper strata. No they stop having withholding you see it with a lot of Hollywood stars and such. Because you are special and the rules don’t apply of course that is until you don’t play ball and then they trip you up. It will be interesting to see if the New York Attorney Generals office bothers with this case or not. My guess would be no, they will find a way to weasel out of holding him accountable because he’s special they probably won’t even investigate and see if there’s any wrongdoing.

Even though state income tax does come out of pay, a form is still required. Plus there is other income that tax may not have been paid on – savings income for example. NY state also has deductions:

Tax Rate Range: Low – 4.0%; High – 6.85%
Income Brackets*: Lowest – $8,000; Highest – $500,000
Number of Brackets: 5
Personal Exemptions: Single – $0; Married – $0; Dependents – $1,000
Standard Deduction: Single – $7,500; Married filing joint return – $14,200
Medical/Dental Deduction: Federal amount
Federal Income Tax Deduction: None

*Note:These income brackets are for single filers. Double the listed amount for joint filers.

Depending on how much time he spent in NY, he might have been considered a part-time resident and still owed New York taxes.