Alaska Governor Sarah Palin will have to pay taxes on $16,951 in travel allowances that she billed the state for days she worked from home in Wasilla.
Palin charged the state for 312 nights she spent at her residence during her first 19 months in office. The former Republican vice presidential nominee was allowed $60 per day for meals and sundries, according to the Washington Post. She claimed the expenses since her Wasilla residence functioned as her “duty station” during that time. Her office in Anchorage is 45 miles away.
The state has reversed a policy that treated the charges as legitimate business expenses under the Tax Code. Payments to employees who work from home will now be considered taxable income. Alaska plans to update the employees’ W-2 forms, and Palin will need to include the information on her 2008 tax return after receiving legal guidance in a state report. Her annual state salary is $125,000.
Palin collected the expense payments between April 22, 2008, shortly after her youngest child was born, and June 3. She also expensed her attendance on Thanksgiving Day 2007 at the Great Alaska Shootout college basketball tournament.
