Blago's Oopsie re: Planes and the Flight Home

Blagojevich could owe thousands for air flights
Plane use may conflict with IRS rules
BY JOHN O'CONNOR
Associated Press


SPRINGFIELD --On Memorial Day, Gov. Rod Blagojevich huddled with legislative leaders in his Capitol office in what turned out to be another futile attempt to negotiate a state budget deal.

Then Blagojevich did what millions of people do after work: He went home. The difference is that the governor flew 150 miles to Chicago on a state plane, then used it to return to Springfield the next day.

That trip and dozens of other flights over the past five years could create tax headaches for Blagojevich and wind up costing Illinois taxpayers tens of thousands of dollars, according to an Associated Press analysis and interviews with tax experts.

The problem? The Internal Revenue Service might consider Blagojevich's flights to be personal trips and a taxable fringe benefit.

The AP analysis covers nearly 1,000 flights on state aircraft by Blagojevich, his family and guests. It found personal travel that could be considered extra income to the governor of at least $225,000, based on the cost of hiring private planes in Illinois.

http://www.bnd.com/news/state/story/205586.html