Senators found unwilling to share tax info

WASHINGTON, Feb. 11 (UPI) -- Most U.S. senators are unwilling to share the kind of personal tax information they demand to confirm Cabinet appointees, a survey indicated.

Even as such senators as Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., and John Cornyn, R-Texas, grilled Obama administration appointees on lapses in paying their taxes, they were among 55 senators who either failed to respond or gave generic answers to Politico's survey asking all 99 senators whether they or the Internal Revenue Service have ever discovered an error on returns they've filed, and whether they've ever had to pay back taxes.

Kyl, who accused the soon-to-be Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner of "dancing around" questions about his taxes during his confirmation hearing, was among 43 senators -- 17 Republicans, 24 Democrats and Joseph Lieberman, I-Conn. -- who failed to respond to the Washington publication.

Cornyn, who declared himself "very troubled" by the tax problems of Health and Human Services Secretary-designate Tom Daschle, was among 12 senators who responded with generic statements about their compliance with financial disclosure requirements, Politico said.

Several Senate staffers contended the publication's survey was either unfair or an invasion of privacy.