European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - April 21, 1992, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Tuesday april 21, 1992 the stars and stripes Page 13 commentary Ellen Goodman despite crime Helmsley deserves a Little Slack in the wee hours of april 15, when the average math phobic american taxpayer was still desperately rummaging among Little piles of receipts for some last minute deduction a car pulled up to a prison Gate in Lexington by. Out of it emerged Leona Helmsley the most famous and scorned tax evader since a1 Capone. If you think the timing of Helmsley a incarceration was an Accident a a Mere astrological coincidence take a rebate for credulity. What the hell take two they re Small. The april 15th Date for Helmsley a appointment in Lexington was designed to Send a chill up the pen of any taxpayer who has Ever thought about charging lunch with mom As a business expense. It was a preemptive strike against any deep Dank dark suspicion that the very Rich do not pay taxes like thee me and a White House canine author named Millie. After All the most famous line attributed to Helmsley in every Story about the hotel magnates trial and conviction was that a Only the Little people pay  now the big lady was in the Slammer. Gotcha Well forgive me if i done to join the cheering squad at the prison Gate. I am no card carrying member of the Leona Helmsley defense committee. I am grateful that i never worked for her. I thought the ads she ran As the self styled Queen of the Helmsley hotels were a Tacky tribute to one woman a hubris. Even worse than Lee Iacocca a. But i never thought one woman a comeuppance a or should i say come Down Ance a would be a cause of such Celebration. Its As if everyone but her lawyers got High on seeing Helmsley brought Low. A How the mighty Are fallen from Penthouse luxury to the prison cell a said one wire Story. A Leona Helmsley wont find mints on her Pillow when she checks into Federal prison a gloated another. There were Loving reports about the Rich lady a new designer wardrobe a Blue top and Blue pants or White Blouse and Black skirt. There were details about her decidedly spartan accommodations a room for 32 with a bunk bed a desk a locker and chair to Call her own. Even the Warden helped by suggesting that Helmsley a hotel experience would qualify her to mop floors. Come on. Nobody a received this sort of treatment since Marie Antoinette lost her Crown the hard Way. And she Wasny to around to see it. Admittedly when any wealthy person clashes with the Law somebody thinks the Rich and famous get off easier and somebody thinks they have it harder. Willie Smiths supporters believe he never would have been indicted if his Middle name weren to Kennedy. The detractors believe he was acquitted for the same reason. Mike Tyson fans arc sure his Money was the real target. The rest Are relieved that he got convicted despite it. In fact the Rich Are not treated like the rest of us. They get better lawyers and worse publicity. They rarely end up on death Row getting executed. They often end up on Page one getting trashed. Add Helmsley to the bin. There is nothing More popular in a democracy than a Story of the Rise from rags to riches. Unless it is a Story of the fall from riches to prison. And unless it is the Story of the fall of an uppity woman to a name and serial number 15113-054. Do i think Helmsley Dunn it yup. But do 1 think there is More than a Soupcon of sexism in the Way the irs made an example of her and in the Way the Public takes Joy at her come Down Ance you betcha. It is not just gender police who think that the thresh old of arrogance is lower for women. Or who think that one genders a Tough Bitch is another genders Strong demanding Leader. Women Are judged More on relationships and Helmsley flunked that course in personnel management. A my one crime a she said a was being Leona  Well not quite. But in the end it was the crime that counted the most in the Public Arena. It got her the most hate the least mercy. Leona Helmsley tried to get away with $1.7 million. She paid it Back in dollars and in Spades. She s 71 years old. She lost her Only child a while Back. Her husband and partner was protected from prosecution because he is ill. She a got hardening of the arteries High blood pressure and a four year sentence in the can., ,. So How about a Little Charity Why not it s tax deductible. C Tho Boston glob Sydney h. Schanberg George Worms Way through tax holes again. A. .�____i9� a. I Ai it Tinl the hid Lvii if i Coj the president has released his tax returns and once again the sly dog has avoided paying state. Income taxes. You be got to hand it to him he knows How to outsmart the revenues. George Bush does it by living on the East coast but pretending to keep his pipe and slippers in the Southwest a Texas to be specific. Texas you see is one of Only seven states that has no income tax and or capital gains tax. So on his tax return George lists As his Legal address a nondescript suite at a four Story hotel in Houston. He uses and pays for the hotel digs Only on those rare occasions when he visits Houston a precisely three Days for instance in 1991. The rest of the time the houstonian hotel rents out the suite to anyone willing to pay the $600 daily rate. George does no to even pay that rate he negotiated a special Price $264 a Day. He a one smart dude. While the rest of us Are paying 8, 9, 10, even 12 percent in state and local taxes George has slipped right through a Hole in the Fence on his Way to the Bank. If he were to admit he lived in Washington d c., he would have had to pay More than $200,000 in District of Columbia taxes Over the decade since he moved there As Ronald Reagan a vice president in 1981. His Oiher straightforward alter native would have been to list his estate in Kennebunkport Maine As his True Home. If he had done that he would have been hit with a tax Bill from Maine of about the same size a More than $200,000. There a nothing inconsistent in any of this. George is a believer in states rights and states responsibilities As was Ronnie before him. The moment they got into office they started talking sternly to the state governments trying to teach them self Reliance by taking away Federal Grants for such non essentials As housing mass transit health care and toxic waste cleanup. You la feel better if you learn to do things on your own George and Ronnie lectured the states. Confronted with this new fiscal theory the states began cutting their budgets and raising taxes. But George at least according to lip readers does no to believe in raising taxes. So to put his tax Abhorrence where his Mouth is he signed an affidavit saying that no tax Texas was his irs Home. Its All quite Legal because the easygoing texans have graciously accepted Georges sworn hooey. What he swore to was As follows a it is our intent to return to Houston permanently following completion of my Public service in  that s All you be got to do. Just swear that you a a intend to go Back to Texas or some other no tax state and you done to have to pay the local taxes in whatever place you be just been a a visiting for say the last 37 years. Better yet George does no to actually have to go Back to Texas when life in the Rose Garden is Over. He can live wherever he wants. There a no penalty no Back taxes due for changing your mind. I must pause Here to acknowledge my Large debt for the details in this column to Elizabeth m. Macdonald for her comprehensive piece on the subject in january a Money Magazine and to citizen action of new York an advocacy group with branches in More than 30 states that has been campaigning on issues of tax fairness health insurance and environmental concerns and recently ran a television and in 15 cities about the presidents taxes. Getting Back to Georges loopholes. To be precisely fair he does pay a tiny amount in state taxes a $3,596 in 19jo a but since this appears Only As a number on his Federal return and he does not make his state documents Public one can Only speculate on where this Money goes. In the end this payment notwithstanding the Bushes avoid $25,000 or More each year in state taxes. Also in fairness one has to re Cord that the Bushes did live in Texas Lor Many years until George became vice president. At that juncture they sold their five bedroom Home in Houston for $843,273 and bought the Kennebunkport estate known As walkers Point Lor $800,000 from Georges aunt May Walker. The Bushes at this Point tried to avoid yet another tax. Ironically the device they selected was to try listing Maine not Texas As their Home state. Thuv done to seem to be choosy about where they Call Home As Long As the tax is right. The Issue in 1981 was the $600, 100 profit they had made on the Sale of the Houston Home a and the taxes owed on this. George tried to defer paying the capital gains tax by saying he had used the $600,000 to buy his a principal House in Maine a the place he now insists is but a vacation Retreat. The irs rejected the Bushes Contention that Kennebunkport was their principal residence at the time and made them pay the gains tax a $177,600. Faced with this dead end the Bushes did a a turn and began claiming the Houston hotel suite As their Home. So now you can see the True reason Why George avoids state taxes. The Devil made him do it. F  a y p