HHS Secretary Mike Leavitts' tax write-off provokes tax audit

[grateful581]

By Thomas Burr and Robert Gehrke
The Salt Lake Tribune
Published: 08 August 2006

WASHINGTON - The Internal Revenue Service plans to audit a Utah foundation that channeled tax-deductible donations from the politically powerful Leavitt family through Southern Utah University back to the Leavitts in the form of student rent for family-owned apartments.

Southern Utah Foundation President Scott Truman said the organization's board, which met Monday in Cedar City, asked him not to comment on the IRS audit, but that "they feel that we should be OK."
An IRS spokesman said he could not comment on any investigation.
Mark Barton, Southern Utah University's vice president for advancement and regional services, says the state school does not plan to change how it administers the foundation's donation or its housing scholarship program.

More at
http://www.sltrib.com/ci_4149644

[havocmom]

1. News last week: IRS fires 1/3 of the tax lawyers it had to audit Fat Cats

Coincidence?

[bluedeminredstate]

2. Wow. That's just so sleazy.

Remember Mike Espy and Henry Cisneros? How about Web Hubell, who was ruined over his billing practices, while admitedly wrong, did not rip off the federal government? Cisneros was dogged by FBI for answers on his background check about money he gave to his mistress - not a crime that required millions and millions of dollars and the huge amount of manpower by the FBI that went on for years.

This is just so sleazy: this family foundation basically gave money to the Southern U of Utah as a donation and then the university, through an agreement with the foundation, placed housing scholarship students in Leavitt family-owned apartments with the rent being paid to, of course the Leavitt family! So a tax-deductible donation goes out and then comes back as income!

If this were a Clinton official the justice department would have exploded by now and the aneurysms of the GOP leadership and cable talking heads would have every hospital OR in DC booked up. The article is interesting in that the family is saying that it's possible the records weren't properly kept and of course if that's so, all will be fixed thankyouverymuchsopleasemovealongnow. They seem to think this is just a little bookkeeping error instead of a scam! The University isn't even planning on changing the arrangement, saying it's all legal. It's just jawdropping what they think they can do with no worry of consequences.



"Mark Barton, Southern Utah University's vice president for advancement and regional services, says the state school does not plan to change how it administers the foundation's donation or its housing scholarship program.
'Everything has been checked out and it's legal,'" Barton said. He added the university has not received any notice of an inquiry by the IRS.
The foundation already plans to redo its IRS filings because several of its reports were inaccurate, showing that the organization returned money directly to the foundation connected to the family of U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt, even though the money actually went to SUU and then to housing scholarships.
The foundation's former accountant Rhea Tuft previously told National Public Radio that she filed the report that way because she knew the money would end up back with the Leavitts."

" Nearly $500,000 in charitable contributions from the Leavitt family to the Southern Utah Foundation went to the university and eventually was recycled to the Leavitts through an agreement that student housing scholarships be used only for family-owned apartments.
The circular cash flow provided the Leavitts with tax deductions and income."


:mad: