Re the President's Missed Deductions.

• Author: SCHNEPPER, JEFF A.
• Position: Humor: comments on the president's tax return - Brief Article

Pres. William Jefferson Clinton The White House Washington, D.C. 20500

Dear Mr. President:

I have reviewed your 1998 tax return to see if you could have saved some more in taxes. The return shows that you paid $7,215 in 1998 for "Tax Prep. & Acctng Serv." Let's see if you got your money's worth.

I didn't see any deductions on the return for dry cleaning services. You should know that all expenditures to maintain your present position are deductible. Based on rumors I heard about some problems you had last year in the House of Representatives, you should have considered "cleaning up" your act--it would have been deductible.

Something else concerned me since expenses incurred to preserve your present position are deductible. However, no place on your return did I see any deductions for legal fees. Given the millions that were spent in your defense last year, I find it inconceivable that nothing was paid by you. If you did, those legal expenses would have been deductible. What's the story here?

If the funds for your defense were given to you as a gift, that money was not taxable to you. However, to be considered a gift and nontaxable, the dollars must have come in with "detached and disinterested generosity." Your return suggests that none of the dollars that came in for your benefit had any expectation of some sort of quid pro quo. Your position that these were all gifts may even be too aggressive. But then again, I didn't appoint the Commissioner of the IRS. It's good to be president!

Let's try to find some more deductions. I noted that you reported zero in noncash charitable contributions. These would have been donations to Goodwill, Salvation Army, etc. for old clothes, furniture, et al. You are entitled to deduct the wholesale fair market value of the goods you contribute. In fact, many of these organizations publish guidelines to help you value your contributions.

I know you are aware of these allowable deductions because, several years ago, you attempted to claim deductions for underwear that you contributed to charity. If I remember correctly, you tried to claim a deduction of $10-20 per pair. At that time, you didn't realize the historical significance and therefore the augmented value of your shorts. I hope this perceived conflict didn't strain your relationship with the Internal Revenue Service.

Moving on, I was curious to see that Hillary listed herself as an attorney, but only showed income as an author. As someone who earns...