I want to follow up on Mark's post "The New York Times is incapable of learning part 4,234 -- Ignoring context is not part of balance". This article is a great example of ignoring the larger context of the story. The article begins:
US Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez wants to raise taxes on the rich — just not pay her own.But as you read down further:
“The congresswoman is still in the process of contesting the tax warrant. The business has been closed for several years now, and so we believe that the state Tax Department has continued to collect the franchise tax in error,” said Lauren Hitt, an AOC spokeswoman.
“As anyone who’s tried to contest a tax bill in error knows, it takes time,” Hitt added.There is obviously a major difference between having a active tax dispute and not paying taxes. After all, the president has been apparently under audit (i.e., contesting taxes) for several years now.
The real interesting piece here is how this is showing up at the same time as the Supreme Court is ruling on keeping presidential taxes top secret. This does two things. One, it applies a very real double standard as to whether taxes are a private matter. Two, it removes the context of what tax information is relevant. It is quite plausible that somebody might not successfully close a business in a way that it still gets taxed or that a form could have been misplaced. Why is the question not the cumbersome and opaque nature of most taxation systems?
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