Yet another Cabinet tax evader

OK. This isn't funny any more. Heck, it's not even surprising any more.

Ron Kirk, former Dallas mayor and nominee to be U.S. Trade Representative in the Obama Administration, has — are you sitting down? — an unpaid tax issue.

I'm about as "Shocked, shocked I say!" as Inspector Renault when he discovered gambling was going on at Rick's Cafe Americain in Casablanca.

Kirk, following in the footsteps of too many previous Obama Cabinet appointees, apparently failed to pay almost $10,000 in taxes during the past three years because of a series of mistakes.

According to the Senate Finance Committee, which will hold a confirmation hearing on Kirk next Monday, Kirk's problems come from speaking fees, as well as the cost of sports games, for which he deducted too much, and improper treatment of accounting fees on his income taxes.

Kirk has agreed to file amended returns. Ya think?

Also expected is eventual approval of Kirk for the trade post. Finance Committee Chair Sen. Max Baucus (D- Mont.) released a statement saying, "Mayor Kirk is the right person for this job and I will work to move his nomination quickly."

Usually, you don't want to be at the end of a long line of problems because people tend to say "enough already!"

But the way the Obama nominees are going, just being another appointee with tax problems now looks like the way to approval.

Ho hum, move along, folks. Nothing to see on these returns that you haven't seen way too many times before.

The big question is how many spots does Obama have left to fill?

Related posts:

• Potential appointee advice: Take tax care!
• Tax troubles end Daschle, Killefer hopes
• Nominate everyone & close the tax gap
• Geithner's apology works