Tax Cheats R Us II

The New York Times reports that Tom Daschle knew as early as last June that he may owe additional taxes, but didn't pay the tax bill until recently, after his nomination to be secretary of Health and Human Services.

Daschle claims the delay was due to the time it took for his accountant to prepare a report on the matter. But it isn't that complicated to determine the liability, so it suggests there was another motivation to wait: he wasn't planning on paying the additional taxes unless he was nominated to an administration post.

Barack Obama has promised a renewed focus on ethics in his administration (with the implication of a lack of ethics in the Bush administration). Two people have received administration roles despite new lobbyist rules, and now two people have been nominated (with one already confirmed) to the cabinet despite cheating on their taxes.

This is a change, but not in the way Obama promised.