Geithner faces questions on taxes
TEXT OF STORY
Scott Jagow: President Obama’s nominee for Treasury Secretary will be on Capitol Hill today. Timothy Geithner was supposed to be a shoe-in. But now, of course, he’ll face questions about his personal taxes. More from Nancy Marshall Genzer.
Nancy Marshall Genzer: When Timothy Geithner appears before the Senate Finance Committee this morning, he’ll face some pointed questions. How could the head of the New York Fed not pay self-employment taxes for several years? And how could Geithner have employed a housekeeper temporarily without work papers?
Mark Gertler has some ideas. He’s a member of the New York Fed’s advisory board, and knows Geithner professionally.
Mark Gertler: He’s so focused on his job that maybe other stuff he didn’t pay as much attention to as he might have wanted to with the benefit of hindsight.
Geithner has played a key role in bank mergers and the bailout. Critics say the bailout hasn’t done enough to loosen the credit crunch. Still, securities lawyer Bill Singer says Geithner’s the best we’ve got.
Bill Singer: Do we give him a Mulligan here, a do-over, because he’s probably the most qualified person for the job?
Lawmakers appear to be leaning toward giving Geithner another shot, despite the grilling he’ll probably get today.
In Washington, I’m Nancy Marshall Genzer for Marketplace.
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