Geithner’s apology works

January 22, 2009

"These were careless mistakes. They were avoidable mistakes. But they were unintentional."

So began Treasury Secretary nominee Timothy Geithner's mea culpa to Senate Finance Committee members who had been grilling him over his failure to report and pay tax on self-employment income.

Let's just let him speak for himself:

It apparently worked. By an 18-to-5 vote, the panel endorsed Geithner's nomination and sent it along to the full Senate where confirmation is expected next week.

See, your mom was right. Own up to your mistakes, make good when you can and try to sound sincere when you say you're sorry.

Nanny tax strikes again: Yet another prospective political appointee has been knocked out of the running by the nanny tax.

This time it's Caroline Kennedy, who had been by some reports the frontrunner to fill new Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's U.S. Senate seat.

Kennedy pulled her name from consideration apparently after some potentially embarrassing household help tax issues came up during the vetting process.

Details, such as they are, can be found in the New York Times and Politico's Glenn Thrush blog.

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Tax Season 2026 Continues!

We made it. Tax Day 2025 is finally over. For most of us. When the filing season started on Jan. 26, millions who were expecting refunds filed immediately. Most of us got our returns to the Internal Revenue Service by April 15. But plenty of taxpayers also got extensions. They are looking at an Oct. 15 filing deadline.

Those procrastinating filers aren’t a problem. In fact, the IRS appreciates taxpayers who take time to fill out their 1040 forms correctly. It also is grateful that tax submissions are spread out a bit, especially now that the IRS is a leaner agency. Processing returns is easier when they arrive throughout the year instead of in massive bunches.

But enough about Uncle Sam’s tax collection issues. The focus now is on all y’all who filed for extensions, giving you another six months to complete your return. Since your new mid-October due date will be here before you know it, let’s get started now on meeting it.

The ol’ blog is here to help you finish up your extended Form 1040. You can start with January’s tax tips page, which has links to the rest of the year’s tips by-month collections. You also can peruse various tax categories for more tailored advice by clicking on the More Tax Posts drop-down menu at the top of this (and every) page.

And to make sure you don’t miss your new filing deadline, the count-down clock below will let you know just how much time you to file by Oct. 15. At the latest.e. (Note: I’m in the Central Time Zone, so adjust accordingly for where you live.)

Comments
  • betty neace

    This is why the low paid people have a hard time the high paid rob them of there just paid there is more than one way to rob people besids holding a gun to someone head this is another way to rob people.

  • Jan,
    I guess he follows that popular path that it’s easier to ask for forgiveness than permission which, in this case, obviously wouldn’t have been granted!
    Kay

  • I don’t fault him for the mistakes.
    I fault him for waiting until he got caught to fix them. There were several opportunities to come clean and fix this BEFORE the Obama administration brought it to his attention.
    Can this be the best person we have available to run the treasury?

Comments are closed.