Here's another Reason Not To Live In Texas.

[Duke_of_Rat]

I’m not sure what the timeline is you guys are looking for, but IIRC, when the “Bush National Guard Memo” scandal hit before the election, there was offered up as a piece of the evidence something that had a Houston address or P.O. box number, or something. As far as I know, this address was never contested. The way that thing was picked apart, down to the typewriter font, if the mailing address was false, surely that would have been flagged.

I don’t know if this means that no Bush has ever had a permanent residence in Texas, or if that’s even what we are supposed to be looking for. Or what this whole tangent has to do with the thread in general.

[gooftroopag]

@Duke of Rat

I’m not sure what the timeline is you guys are looking for, but IIRC, when the “Bush National Guard Memo” scandal hit before the election, there was offered up as a piece of the evidence something that had a Houston address or P.O. box number, or something. As far as I know, this address was never contested. The way that thing was picked apart, down to the typewriter font, if the mailing address was false, surely that would have been flagged.

I don’t know if this means that no Bush has ever had a permanent residence in Texas, or if that’s even what we are supposed to be looking for. Or what this whole tangent has to do with the thread in general.

To continue the tangent…

If I’m not mistaken, the memo in question is the one that CBS 60 minutes used in their report, here.

[Little_Plastic_Ninja]

@Monty

Let’s try it this way: Someone asserted that Bush was just maintaining a mailing address in Texas so he could avoid paying state income taxes. That’s a positive assertion. Someone else asked for proof of that positive assertion. Why should that someone else provide proof of refutation?

It’s very difficult to prove what a person filed on their taxes for rather obvious reasons. Even Joe Q. Tax-Assessor can’t just randomly look up Bush’s tax records – he’ll get fired from his job. Those records are confidential unless I’m very much mistaken. It IS possible that the allegation is without merit, which is kind of neither here nor there as to the question of evil Texans.

But to continue with the ratholing, in re holding public office –

BTW, how can someone who is not resident in Texas be elected to a representative office in Texas? (Feel free to categorize this query under the smell test.)

This brings of the question of what resident really means. And this isn’t actually a question on the same level as the definition of ‘is’. In order to go to college in Texas under residency laws, for example, you have to prove that you have been a Texas resident for at least 12 months. What is a Texas resident, exactly? Well, there’s no actual law or rule that I can find stating precisely what percentage of your time you spend in any particular locality. That would prove a pretty onerous burden for, to give an example, a soldier stationed at Fort Hood but deployed to Iraq… or, in fact, a US Congressman from Texas, who only gets to spend his vacations here. Or a businessman who travels overseas for a large portion of his time. Or or or or…

Here is how you become a ‘resident’ as far as the University of Texas is concerned –

http://www.utexas.edu/student/admissions/residency/resfaq.html

Some quotes:

Q. How do I establish residency?
A. One must be an independent (not claimed as a dependent for income tax purposes), US citizen or permanent resident, (have a green card, also known as card I551 or the evidence of I551 stamp in the passport) or international student who is eligible to establish a domicile in Texas and live in the state of Texas for 12 consecutive months without attending an institution of higher education and be gainfully employed.

Q. What other documents should I turn in with the questionnaire (ed: determining whether I’m a resident)?
A. Proof of domicile (i.e. proof of home purchase or copy of lease) and letter from the employer(s) need to be submitted with the questionnaire. If a parent is claiming the student on income tax forms, they must attach a copy of the tax form listing the student as a dependent for the year prior to enrollment and year of enrollment. International students applying for residency must submit a copy of their current visa or proof of submission of application to adjust status to permanent residency (green card application) or the signed affidavit required by HB 1403.

So what this says is that a person must “live” in Texas for a year before being considered a resident. All fine and good… but that’s not saying you’re not allowed to leave the state for the entirety of that twelve months. College students go back home – to other states, sometimes – at Christmas and in the summer to see their families, for example. They’re still Texas residents.

So let’s say we’re George W. Bush. He might be working on his daddy’s campaign or visiting his brother or a thousand other things. He might spend vast months at a time in places not Texas, but as long as he has proof that he has an address that receives mail here in our great state, he can claim residency.

It’s not that anything he did is illegal. If it was, he’d likely have been caught by the IRS. It’s an accountant’s advice – if you can establish your residency in Texas, then you won’t have to pay income tax wherever else you hang out. If you live in New Jersey, say, and commute to New York every day, you aren’t required to pay income taxes to the State of New York. As long as you have spent some time at that address – three days should be enough – then… well, you’re taking advantage of a legal loophole, but you aren’t breaking the law. It just isn’t exactly ethical, nor is it amusing to return to the state and run for office while portraying yourself as a ‘good ol’ boy, born and bred’ when you’ve spent your time at a constant distance from the state.

But I haven’t made a study of Bush the Elder’s or Bush the Younger’s movements throughout their lives. That would make me a stalker, not a – a – whatever it is I am.

[Little_Plastic_Ninja]

Eeee, look what I found!

http://www.nysscpa.org/cpajournal/old/14476921.htm

A CPA journal, this is probably pretty reputable. Certainly it has no bias.

For example, former President George Bush maintained a Texas residency during his Washington tenure even though his only residence in Texas was a Houston hotel room he rented a few days a year. An individual who is domiciled in New York is assumed to be present within the state for the entire year unless documented otherwise. Furthermore, an individual’s presence in New York for any portion of a day will count as an entire day.

However, this is in regard to DADDY Bush, not now-President Bush. I was wrong about the identity, and I apologize if I misled anyone, but it was an honest mistake.

Still. Legal? Yes. Ethical? I don’t really think so.

[gooftroopag]

@Little Plastic Ninja

College students go back home – to other states, sometimes – at Christmas and in the summer to see their families, for example. They’re still Texas residents.

Based on the quote from UT, they do not. Actually, I do not know a single university that considers a student a resident of the state just for attending school there. Bolding mine.

Q. How do I establish residency?
A. One must be an independent (not claimed as a dependent for income tax purposes), US citizen or permanent resident, (have a green card, also known as card I551 or the evidence of I551 stamp in the passport) or international student who is eligible to establish a domicile in Texas and live in the state of Texas for 12 consecutive months without attending an institution of higher education and be gainfully employed.

[SteveG1]

@Monty

Let’s try it this way: Someone asserted that Bush was just maintaining a mailing address in Texas so he could avoid paying state income taxes. That’s a positive assertion. Someone else asked for proof of that positive assertion. Why should that someone else provide proof of refutation?

BTW, how can someone who is not resident in Texas be elected to a representative office in Texas? (Feel free to categorize this query under the smell test.)

Like I said, I just don’t feel like looking for it. It is way down in the noise level, as far as I’m concerned. Besides, other people have already gone looking. As for me, I don’t really care one way or the other. All I said was, I remembered seeing something about it once.

[Monty]

So you’re saying you don’t have any proof the man’s not a real Texan. Thanks.