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Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas didn’t report on required financial disclosure forms that a friend forgave some or all of a $267,230 loan, according to a report released Wednesday by Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden.
Thomas and his wife Virginia borrowed the money from Anthony Welters, a longtime friend who with Thomas came up in the Black conservative movement, to purchase a luxury motor coach in 1999, according to the report.
“This is a $267,000 transaction that has been kept secret for decades. Finance Committee members are finding out the details at the same time as everyone else,” said Wyden (D., Ore.). “Justice Thomas should inform the committee whether he reported this forgiven loan on his tax returns and paid all income taxes owed.”
A series of press reports has revealed a side of Thomas’s lifestyle built on the largess of wealthy figures who have given him vacations and provided financial assistance. In August, the New York Times reported that Thomas had purchased the used 40-foot-long Prevost Le Mirage XL Marathon recreational vehicle with money borrowed from Welters, who told the publication that the loan had been satisfied but didn’t say whether it had been repaid or forgiven.
Under the tax code, gifts and loan proceeds aren’t taxable income. But when a debt is forgiven, the borrower generally must include that amount as income and pay taxes on it.
The report is the latest disclosure that adds to the scrutiny faced by Thomas for accepting free trips and other financial dealings with conservative billionaires. He has vigorously defended not disclosing those matters in past years, saying omissions were due to inadvertent mistakes or legal guidance then in effect.
www.wsj.com
This is so unfair to pick on poor Clarence Thomas. How is he to know what the law is?
Thomas and his wife Virginia borrowed the money from Anthony Welters, a longtime friend who with Thomas came up in the Black conservative movement, to purchase a luxury motor coach in 1999, according to the report.
“This is a $267,000 transaction that has been kept secret for decades. Finance Committee members are finding out the details at the same time as everyone else,” said Wyden (D., Ore.). “Justice Thomas should inform the committee whether he reported this forgiven loan on his tax returns and paid all income taxes owed.”
A series of press reports has revealed a side of Thomas’s lifestyle built on the largess of wealthy figures who have given him vacations and provided financial assistance. In August, the New York Times reported that Thomas had purchased the used 40-foot-long Prevost Le Mirage XL Marathon recreational vehicle with money borrowed from Welters, who told the publication that the loan had been satisfied but didn’t say whether it had been repaid or forgiven.
Under the tax code, gifts and loan proceeds aren’t taxable income. But when a debt is forgiven, the borrower generally must include that amount as income and pay taxes on it.
The report is the latest disclosure that adds to the scrutiny faced by Thomas for accepting free trips and other financial dealings with conservative billionaires. He has vigorously defended not disclosing those matters in past years, saying omissions were due to inadvertent mistakes or legal guidance then in effect.
Clarence Thomas Didn’t Fully Repay $267,230 Loan for Luxury Motor Home, Senate Report Says
Thomas and his wife borrowed the money from Anthony Welters, a longtime friend, to purchase a luxury motor coach in 1999.
www.wsj.com
This is so unfair to pick on poor Clarence Thomas. How is he to know what the law is?
