Federal Taxes

Pete Rose owes $151,690 in federal taxes from 1998, prompting the IRS to get a lien on his condominium in Los Angeles, the Cincinnati Enquirer reported in today's editions. California also filed a lien because Rose owed $2,772 in state taxes from 1997, but the money was later paid, according to the paper. Both liens were filed with the recorder's office in Los Angeles County, where Rose owns a $1 million condominium. Rose's accountant David Stern said the former Reds and Phillies star was not attempting to avoid taxes, but simply could not pay the entire amount owed when he filed his 1998 tax return.

As boss of a big, publicly traded industrial business, Peter McCausland , executive board chairman and former CEO of Radnor-based Airgas Inc. , has fought off buyout funds and other "private equity" investors trying to make money at his company's expense. He says it is awfully unfair that federal law lets those high-living fund managers pocket their multimillion-dollar fees, subject only to a 15 percent capital-gains tax, instead of the higher income and payroll taxes that Airgas's 14,000-plus employees - managers to truck drivers - have to pay. Early this year, McCausland, a Republican, sent letters decrying unfair, uneven federal taxes to his U.S. senators - Democrat Robert P. Casey and Republican Pat Toomey - among others in Congress.

A partner in a Philadelphia specialty finance firm was fined $250,000 - more than 12 times what federal guidelines recommend - and sentenced to six months' house arrest yesterday by a judge who said the guidelines did not accurately reflect the scope of the tax-shelter fraud involved. U.S. District Judge Berle M. Schiller, in rejecting the recommended $20,000 fine, told James Delaney the larger fine was the only way he could deter wealthy businesspeople from trying to defraud the Internal Revenue Service.

Federal tax returns show Gov. Christie and his wife, a finance executive, earned $544,000 in gross income for 2009, a year he spent running for governor, and paid $147,000 in federal taxes. Christie's wife is a vice president of Cantor Fitzgerald, a financial services firm. Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno and her husband paid $72,000 in federal taxes on $317,000 in gross income. Guadagno was Monmouth County sheriff. Her husband is a Superior Court judge. The Christies had requested a tax filing extension.

U.S. Sen. Frank R. Lautenberg, one of the richest members of the Senate, disclosed yesterday that he earned more than $18.2 million during the last six years and paid federal taxes of $5.3 million. On average, Lautenberg paid federal taxes equal to 29 percent of his taxable income. He also gave generously to charity - in some years donating more money to charitable causes than he paid in federal taxes. In 1993, for example, Lautenberg listed taxable income of $2.2 million, paid $756,013 in federal taxes and gave $809,488 to charity.

PITTSBURGH - A new state law allows small whiskey distilleries to give samples to visitors and sell bottles directly to the public, and that's big news for Wigle Whiskey. The distillery, which opened Friday, is named after Philip Wigle, who burned down the home of a federal tax collector in the 1790s and helped lead the Whiskey Rebellion, a test of George Washington's presidency. The rebels objected to one of the first federal taxes - on distilled spirits. "We were Kentucky before Kentucky," said Eric Meyer, one of an extended clan that's trying to bring back a once-flourishing Pennsylvania tradition.

WASHINGTON - President Obama says he wants to make sure millionaires are taxed at higher rates than their secretaries. The data say they already are. "Warren Buffett's secretary shouldn't pay a higher tax rate than Warren Buffett. There is no justification for it," Obama said as he announced his deficit-reduction plan this week. "It is wrong that in the United States of America, a teacher or a nurse or a construction worker who earns $50,000 should pay higher tax rates than somebody pulling in $50 million.

Lottery officials said yesterday that they were still waiting for someone to claim the $20.3 million jackpot from Wednesday's Super 7 lottery drawing. A computer check showed that only one winning ticket had been sold. The ticket, containing seven of the 11 winning numbers, can be exchanged for the jackpot - the state's second-largest payoff on a single ticket. Lottery spokeswoman Terry Champlin said the winning person or group has one year from the drawing date to have the ticket validated and claim the prize.

Early retirement. A debt-free life. How about a private jet with 24-hour standby just for fun? Sigh. Lottery dreams remain just that for most players. But not for the Shemonski family of Montgomery County. Their reality has just turned a lot dreamier as holders of the only winning ticket to the $86 million Super 6 jackpot from the Dec. 1 drawing. The four-member family - parents Robert and Margaret, and sons Robert Jr. and Ken - will each receive a gross amount of $21,548,055.

If the feds raise federal taxes on alcohol, earmarking those funds to help reduce the federal deficit, where does that leave Pennsylvania legislative initiatives to do the same at the state level? Retarded and curmudgeonly as this state is, at least Pennsylvania would spend those extra dollars on education, prevention and treatment needs of alcoholism and other chemical- dependency illnesses. Now if the feds take another of their big bites first, how much room to maneuver will be left for local tax ideas in Harrisburg?

WASHINGTON - President Obama and his wife, Michelle, reported paying $112,214 in taxes last year on $608,611 in adjusted gross income for an effective federal income tax rate of 18.4 percent, the White House announced Friday. That marks a decline from the Obamas' adjusted gross income of $789,674 in 2011, when they paid slightly more than 20 percent of it in federal taxes. The president earns a salary of $400,000, while the first lady receives no pay. The president continues to receive royalties from his published books; declining sales appear to have contributed to his drop in income between 2011 and 2012.

WASHINGTON - President Obama and his wife, Michelle, reported paying $112,214 in taxes last year on $608,611 in adjusted gross income for an effective federal income tax rate of 18.4 percent, the White House announced Friday. That marks a decline from the Obamas' adjusted gross income of $789,674 in 2011, when they paid slightly more than 20 percent of it in federal taxes. The president earns a salary of $400,000, while the first lady receives no pay. The president continues to receive royalties from his published books; declining sales appear to have contributed to his drop in income between 2011 and 2012.

One in six Pennsylvanians lacks health insurance. These people are your neighbors and relatives. They serve food and sell clothing. They work in malls and casinos. They provide care for the young and elderly. People without health insurance routinely delay treatment. They get sicker, work less, suffer more, and die sooner. Their ranks doubled in this region in the last dozen years. The Affordable Care Act would make 631,000 more Pennsylvanians eligible for Medicaid coverage next year, many of them making $10 an hour and just getting by. During the first three years, the federal government picks up 100 percent of the tab, with support gradually falling to 90 percent afterward.

WASHINGTON - Inside HC-5, a conference room at the end of a long, dimly lit corridor in the basement of the Capitol, a New Year's Day insurrection simmered among House Republicans. A deal to avert the fiscal cliff had come down from the Senate, but many in the House Republican caucus' energized and often indignant right wing didn't like what they saw. Taxes would rise. Where were the spending cuts? They wanted to send the bill back with amendments the Senate would never accept.

WASHINGTON - While much of Washington is consumed by the debate over tax increases scheduled to take effect next year, big tax hikes have already gone into effect for millions of families and businesses this year. More than 70 tax breaks enjoyed by individuals and businesses expired at the end of 2011. If Congress doesn't extend them retroactively back to the beginning of this year, a typical middle-class family could face a $4,000 tax increase when it files its 2012 return in the spring, according to an analysis by H&R Block, the tax-preparing giant.

Fairer and simpler tax code I want Washington to go big on tax reform ("Small signs of progress on avoiding fiscal cliff," Thursday). My proposal would lower rates, include everyone, and make the code simple and fair. First, lump all federal taxes, including Social Security, into one rate. Second, treat all income equally, regardless of its source, and treat each taxpayer as an individual. Third, eliminate all deductions and credits, including for charities, home mortgages, and children.

DES MOINES, IOWA - The historic Powerball jackpot boosted to $500 million on Tuesday was all part of a plan that lottery officials put in place early this year to build jackpots faster, drive sales and generate more money for states that run the game. Their plan appears to be working. Powerball tickets doubled in price in January to $2, and while the number of tickets sold initially dropped, sales revenue has increased by about 35 percent over 2011. Sales for Powerball reached a record $3.96 billion in fiscal 2012 and are expected to reach $5 billion this year, said Chuck Strutt, executive director of the Des Moines, Iowa-based Multi-State Lottery Association, the group that runs the Powerball game.

DES MOINES, Iowa - The historic Powerball jackpot boosted to $500 million on Tuesday was all part of a plan that lottery officials put in place early this year to build jackpots faster, drive sales, and generate more money for states that run the game. Their plan appears to be working. Powerball tickets doubled in price in January to $2, and while the number of tickets sold initially dropped, sales revenue has increased by about 35 percent over 2011. Sales for Powerball reached a record $3.96 billion in fiscal 2012 and are expected to reach $5 billion this year, said Chuck Strutt, executive director of the Des Moines, Iowa-based Multi-State Lottery Association, the group that runs the Powerball game.

TRENTON - Gov. Christie and his wife paid $141,158 in federal income taxes for 2011 on a combined adjusted gross income of $567,772. The Christies paid $32,770 in New Jersey taxes for the year, according to filings the governor's office released Thursday afternoon. Their federal tax rate was 24.9 percent; their state rate was 5.7 percent. The 189 pages of federal and state tax documents were filed with the Internal Revenue Service by Monday, after a six-month extension. Mary Pat Christie, an investment manager who worked part time for the Wall Street firm Cantor Fitzgerald, earned nearly twice as much as her husband.

As boss of a big, publicly traded industrial business, Peter McCausland , executive board chairman and former CEO of Radnor-based Airgas Inc. , has fought off buyout funds and other "private equity" investors trying to make money at his company's expense. He says it is awfully unfair that federal law lets those high-living fund managers pocket their multimillion-dollar fees, subject only to a 15 percent capital-gains tax, instead of the higher income and payroll taxes that Airgas's 14,000-plus employees - managers to truck drivers - have to pay. Early this year, McCausland, a Republican, sent letters decrying unfair, uneven federal taxes to his U.S. senators - Democrat Robert P. Casey and Republican Pat Toomey - among others in Congress.