Should Congressman Charles Rangel Obey The Tax Laws?
He doesn’t think so, even if he is the chairman of the Ways and Means committee. Just because you write the tax laws doesn’t mean you have to obey them. The New York Post has been investigating Rangel for some months, and they keep coming up with new violations. Harlem Rep. Charles Rangel took a “homestead” tax break on a Washington, DC, house for years while simultaneously occupying multiple rent-stabilized apartments in New York City, possibly violating laws and regulations in both cases. The situation raises a number of potential problems for the congressman, including: • New York City law requires that tenants use rent-stabilized apartments as their primary residence. • DC’s real Property Homestead Deduction Act also requires that a property receiving the benefit be a primary residence. And there’s much more. You might think that Speaker Pelosi would want the chairman of Ways and Means to be someone who obeys the tax laws, as well as writing them, but you would be wrong. Corruption
