Rangel Rule Act of 2009 (Introduced in House)

Tired of the slippery slimey politicians getting preferential treatment? Then read the article below, then view the actual bill, and tell your local representative how you support the bill, and would like to see it pass, it would surely send a message to Washington about how there are two sets of rules in America!

Bill Would Eliminate IRS Penalties and Interest for All U.S. Taxpayers Thursday, January 29, 2009By Susan Jones, Associated Press

(CNSNews.com) - All U.S. taxpayers would enjoy the same immunity from IRS penalties and interest as Rep. Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.) and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner under a bill introduced Wednesday by Republican Rep. John Carter of Texas.

The bill has no chance of passing, but it makes a point: “We must show the American people that Congress is following the same law and the same legal process as we expect them to follow,” said Carter, a former Texas judge.

Under the proposed “Rangel Rule Act of 2009,” any taxpayer who wrote “Rangel Rule” on their return when paying back taxes would be immune from penalties and interest. “If we don’t hold our highest elected officials to the same standards as regular working folks, we owe it to our constituents to change those standards so everyone is abiding by the same law,” the congressman said.

Carter also said the change in tax law would provide good economic stimulus benefits, “as it would free many taxpayers from massive debts to the IRS, restoring those funds to the free market to help create jobs.”

Rangel is currently under investigation by the House ethics committee for allegedly soliciting donations to his non-profit organization in exchange for legislative favors. He has admitted he failed to pay federal taxes on rental income from his beach house in the Dominican Republic. “I never had any idea that I got any income,” he told reporters at a press conference in September.

Republicans have demanded that Rangel step down as chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, which oversees the nation’s tax laws, but House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has refused to force him out.

Timothy Geithner was confirmed this week as U.S. Treasury Secretary despite his failure to pay Social Security and Medicare taxes from 2001 to 2004 while he worked for the International Monetary Fund. At his confirmation hearing, Geithner admitted he’d made “careless, avoidable” mistakes. He repaid his $34,000 tax debt with interest, but the I.R.S. did not impose penalties.

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Rangel Rule Act of 2009 (Introduced in House)
HR 735 IH
111th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 735
To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide that penalties and interest will not be imposed on individuals who are citizens of the United States.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
January 28, 2009
Mr. CARTER introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means
A BILL
To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide that penalties and interest will not be imposed on individuals who are citizens of the United States.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the `Rangel Rule Act of 2009'.
SEC. 2. PENALTIES AND INTEREST NOT IMPOSED ON INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE CITIZENS OF THE UNITED STATES.
(a) In General- Chapter 77 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by adding at the end the following new section:
`SEC. 7529. UNITED STATES CITIZENS EXEMPT FROM PENALTIES AND INTEREST.
`Any individual who is a citizen of the United States and who writes `Rangel Rule' on the top of the first page of the return of tax imposed by chapter 1 for any taxable year shall be exempt from any requirement to pay interest, and from any penalty, addition to tax, or additional amount, with respect to such return.'.
(b) Clerical Amendment- The table of sections for such chapter is amended by adding at the end the following new item:
`Sec. 7529. United states citizens exempt from penalties and interest.'.