A new review of Clinton tax returns by a taxpayer watchdog group has revealed that Bill Clinton overpriced the value of his old, used underpants and several other clothing items donated to charity that boosted his tax write-off.



As governor of Arkansas in 1986, Clinton hand wrote a $6 charity deduction for "3 pr. underwear" that even today are only valued at $1 each, according to the analysis from Americans for Tax Reform. He also claimed $75 for "Garbardine suit - ripped pants" valued by Salvation Army this year at $10-$60.



For just 10 items the Clintons overvalued in their 1986 tax returns, said the group headed by Grover Norquist, they were able to take a write-off of over $1,500 in 2016 dollars.

Said ATR: "The new examination of handwritten notes reveals the Clintons cheated on their taxes by significantly overstating the value of their donated clothing. These are not simple rounding errors of a few percentage points: The Clinton's overstated the value of their used clothing by a factor of several hundred percent."

Mocked when he ran for president for donating his skivvies, the new ATR analysis is the first to compare Clinton's values of the donations to the actual amount Salvation Army gives.



The report, provided in advance to Secrets, quoted a tax agent questioning the Clinton tax claims.

"Hillary and Bill Clinton clearly overstated the fair market value of the clothing donated," said Ryan Ellis, an IRS enrolled agent and tax policy expert. "If a taxpayer overstates a deduction like this, they could be held liable under audit by the IRS for back taxes, interest, and a failure-to-pay penalty," said Ellis.

President Clinton encounters a pigeon while jogging on the Mall in Washington Wednesday, April 27, 1994. (AP Photo/Dennis Cook)

Norquist noted the clash between the Clinton's effort to inflate their charitable giving of even used undies with Hillary Rodham Clinton's proposed taxes on several items.

"Hillary and Bill Clinton didn't pay the taxes they owed. The press has focused only on the giggle factor of the underwear, but fail to mention the Clintons broke the law," said Norquist. "Meanwhile, Hillary has pushed a national gun tax, a soda tax, a payroll tax hike on middle income households, a Death Tax hike, a capital gains tax hike and several other tax hikes totaling $1.4 trillion over a decade."

ATR has set up a site to track Clinton tax hike proposals at HighTaxHillary.com.

Bill Clinton answered the question "boxers or briefs" in this MTV town hall at the 1:08:50 mark.

Forgotten after he left office, Bill Clinton's donation of his undies was the subject of many late night comedy routines and may have sparked a legendary question asked at a 1994 MTV town hall:

Q - Mr. President, the world's dying to know, is it boxers or briefs?

A - Usually briefs. I can't believe she did that.

Paul Bedard, the Washington Examiner's "Washington Secrets" columnist, can be contacted at pbedard@washingtonexaminer.com