From the always entertaining "Mr. Kettle, meet Mr. Pot" file we have former IRS Commissioner Mark Everson pointing fingers at tax attorneys and accountants in connection with the 2008 financial industry meltdown.
Everson, who headed the Internal Revenue Service from May 2003 until May 2007, played the blame game in a New York Times op-ed piece in which he longed for the days when Lawyers and Accountants Once Put Integrity First.
"Lawyers and accountants who were once the proud pillars of our financial system have become the happy architects of its circumvention. Nowhere is this more the case than in the world of tax law," writes Everson. "Companies (and wealthy individuals) pay handsomely for tax professionals not just to find the lines, but to push them ever outward."
While his point about questionable professional tax advice might well be worth taking, it's an hypocritical interesting bit of preaching from Everson, who's now commissioner of the Indiana Department of Workforce Development.
You might recall that Everson left the IRS to take over at the America Red Cross. But he didn't last long there.
Just six months later, he was fired from the Red Cross position after it was learned he was having an affair with a subordinate. Both she and Everson were married at the time.
A full Follow-up Friday: It's been a busy week of new information related to previous posts, so instead of crowding them into one item, I'm posting several Follow-up Friday pieces.
Next up, New York City bagels.
Related posts:
- IRS Commissioner to head Red Cross
- Former IRS Commissioner fired from Red Cross
- Doug Shulman to be new IRS commish
- Following Follow-up Friday
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