Spin Cycle

Gov. Spitzer's press secretary has issued a statement on Bruno's complaint that Eliot's aides worked with Senate Dems to try to sic the IRS on Bruno's travel:

"Recent newspaper articles suggest that for many years Senator Bruno has been using state vehicles for trips that included personal political business. Media outlets have raised questions about the tax implications of those trips, because personal use of state airplanes, helicopters and cars is considered a fringe benefit that must be reported as imputed income,* and Senator Bruno's aide indicates that Senator Bruno has never paid taxes for these trips.

"Executive Chamber staff and Senate staff appropriately discussed whether these alleged tax violations should be formally referred to the relevant authorities. Senator Bruno is simply trying to divert attention by claiming that it was somehow improper for government employees to consider asking enforcement agencies to look into this matter. It is not. To the contrary, it is appropriate for relevant authorities to determine whether it warrants investigation."

They also cite a CFR section which we'll try to find.

(UPDATE: We looked. It's all a lot of boilerplate language about taxing fringe benefits, including employer provided flights, and not terribly enlightening. The squirrelly thing here is that Mario Cuomo was taxed for personal use and this statement refers to personal use, but the Bruno controversy has focused on mixed government/political use.)