Nixon’s funny business, taxwise, in having home-improvement work done at the “Western White House” of San Clemente was one of the things that eventually tripped him up, IIRC. When in doubt, pay it yourself.
Ignorance fought!
Can you imagine being a fellow passenger on that flight, though? That’d be an image as surreal as Nixon meeting Elvis.
I can guarantee that the President has direct deposit.
The Electronic Funds Transfer Expansion Act, effective January 1, 1999, made it mandatory for all recipients of government payments (except IRS refund checks), including federal government salaries, to be paid via direct deposit to a financial institution.
Cite:
http://www.morristownfcu.org/asp/services/service_1_6.asp
From the above linked article:
Kinda defeats the stated purpose. 
Ross Perot said that he would when he ran in '92 during a debate. Clinton and GHWB laughingly declined to make the same pledge.
“I have accountants, pay for it all”
If I may interrupt the thread to respond to this.
I’ve never heard of this rental arrangement for 10 Downing Street and I can’t find anything to confirm it. I’d be grateful for a cite.
Many thanks.
I heard it on Panorama years ago and I can’t find a cite either. Judging from the stuff every other MP seems to be claiming as expenses, doesn’t seem likely that he pays for anything much.
It’s something like this:
0% on the first 10,000 of taxable income.
10% on any income between 10K and 50K
20% on any income between 50K and 100K
35% on income over 100K
(note: brackets and percentages made up out of whole cloth, just for illustration).
So, if the POTUS is earning 400K, his tax would be:
10% of 40K, plus 20% of 50K, plus 35% of 300K.
That’s 4,000, plus 10,000, plus 105,000, = 129,000. As I was just making up the brackets etc. and completely ignored deductions, that’s not the real tax bill - but it shows that the 35% is only on the amount above a certain figure. Just earning more doesn’t mean that you get that higher rate on all your income.
Did he? IIRC he said he wouldn’t take a salary at all. Though he may have changed it the second time he ran I remember him saying he’d do the job for free.
My understanding is that it’s all counted as official business unless it’s clearly a political event like a fundraiser. It seems to me that there is a lot of flying off to LA to speak to some group (say the VFW), which can be considered communicating with the public, then spending some time at a fundraiser. The expenses incurred for the time spent at the fundraiser have to be paid by the political party, but I think the rest of it is considered official business. I don’t know if there is some pro-rating that occurs with the flight expenses that were incurred to get to LA and back in the first place.
Usually fundraising events are scheduled the same day that the President is in town for some official appearance, and Uncle Sam foots the bill for all travel costs, IIRC, unless there’s a measurable difference between political and official expenses for a particular day’s activities, in which case the President’s party pays a pro rata share. I remember that being done during Clinton’s 1996 reelection travels.
Like Chez Guevara, I’m sceptical that the British Prime Minister pays rent on No. 10. Other senior ministers live in their official residences rent-free. And given the regular controversies about the occupants of other grace-and-favour residences (such as everyone’s-least-favourite-minor-Royals, Prince and Princess Michael of Kent), one would have thought that if the Prime Minister was actually an exception, this would be mentioned more often.
What is true is that the Prime Minister has to pay for any domestic servants for the private flat in No. 10. (I however have a vague feeling that Chequers comes fully staffed, but then it’s not financed by the taxpayer.) The lack of domestic help is not a secret, not least because Cherie always made a point of complaining about it. The idea that Thatcher regularly cooked Denis’s dinner was also one element in her whole ‘housewife megastar’ persona.
According to this article, the PM does not pay rent at 10 Downing street.
Up the thread there was talk of the president’s pay being deposited in a separate account he didn’t have access to — I think you may be confusing the president’s paycheck with his or her investments. Any money they have in stocks or bonds are generally converted to a blind trust, to prevent the pres from calling his broker (or his broker from calling him) and saying, “What looks good? Bethlehem Steel, eh? All right, I’ll be sure to hint that I’m considering tariffs on Chinese heavy industry imports in my remarks today. That ought to dive her through the roof!”
This is the executive press release documenting Regan’s
http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=44168
The Clintons just dissolved theirs in '07
I’d like to be a bank teller at Potus Central Credit Union. Getting to shoot the shit with Barack every two weeks? Not too shabby!
Federal employee plans provide pretty good coverage for dependants (I should know!), so when the President’s daughter is going to college halfway across the country, it’s probably worth it to get her enrolled.
“I need to feel your ID.”
I wouldn’t think his staff could make health care or retirement elections for him??
One of the linked articles says that Bush has declined the retirement, so he probably picked $0 contributions and left it that way.