This New York Post story regarding John Kerry is yet another example why we cannot trust politicians, especially in terms of tax reform. They can talk the talk but not walk the walk.

Kerry's home state Massachusetts has an interesting state tax law: residents can elect to pay at a higher 5.85% rate to contribute more to the state, even though the normal tax rate if 5.30%. John Kerry, lately mentioned he was in favor of raising tax of high-income groups with more than $200,000 annual income, and a high-income individual by himself in this definition, chose to use the lower rate of 5.30%.

Yes, only 624 out of more than 2 million Massachusetts taxpayers chose to pay more than necessary, but shall we expect more from Mr. Kerry?

Mr. Kerry can probably argue that he believes he can make more meaningful impact if he can decide how the use the fund, and he actually donated more than $40,000 last year, much higher than the extra tax he would have paid if he chose the higher state tax rate of 5.85%. But as described in the story, Mr. Kerry has a habit of donating more during election: his 2003 donation is higher than his 2001-2003 donation combined.

He can also argue by using some of the funds to support his own presidential campaign, his chance to getting elected will be higher and if elected, he can make a much bigger impact. (He even sold a painting and borrowed from his home equity to support his campaign.) This explanation so far makes the most sense for me.

Source: Tax Guru-Ker$tetter Letter