U.S. Treasury Secretary nominee Geithner Apologizes Over Taxes

A WALL STREET JOURNAL ONLINE

U.S. Treasury Secretary nominee Timothy Geithner apologized Wednesday to members of the Senate Finance Committee for tax errors he committed earlier this decade that came to light during his nomination process. Mr. Geithner called the mistakes "careless" and "avoidable." He told the panel he was sorry that his past transgressions were now an issue in his confirmation at a time of deepening economic crisis. He urged Congress to act quickly and forcefully to deal with the crisis. A top administration priority is to foster economic recovery and "get credit flowing again," Mr. Geithner testified. As to his failure to pay the payroll taxes from 2001 to 2004 while he worked for the International Monetary Fund, Mr. Geithner said the errors were unintentional. "I should have been more careful," he said.

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