Remember when we learned earlier this week that Charlie Rangel, the U.S. representative that writes our tax code as chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, somehow forgot to report nearly a million dollars on a 2007 federal financial-disclosure form? Well, it turns out in the four years leading up to that, he failed to report a whopping $3 million in business transactions — including the sale of a lovely Harlem townhouse worth up to $1 million. These disclosure forms aren’t tax-related; his staff assured the Post that he’s reported everything properly to the IRS and is all paid up. This, of course, suggests that his accountants are capable of keeping track of things; they just choose not to in these particular disclosure proceedings. The forms are designed to create financial transparency for legislators and expose any undue influences. In other words, they’re supposed to assure voters that their representatives aren’t up to anything shady. Which, of course, is negated when an elected official behaves extremely shadily while filling out the forms.
