Politics | Tom Daschle Daschle Waited to Tell Obama About Tax Glitch HHS nominee knew his taxes needed fixing; didn't know how much By Matt Cantor Posted Feb 1, 2009 11:04 AM CST Copied Health and Human Services Secretary-designate Tom Daschle, center, poses with Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee members on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2009. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh) Health secretary-designate Tom Daschle didn’t tell the Obama administration that he owed years of back taxes until a month after he’d been nominated, the Washington Post reports. He paid $140,000 in taxes January 2 and told government leaders about it two days later. He had known his taxes needed fixing but didn’t know the “jaw-dropping” amount owed and thought his accountant was dealing with it, a rep said. “The president believes nobody's perfect but that nobody's hiding anything,” said Obama’s press secretary. Meanwhile, a report Daschle submitted to officials shows how without becoming a registered lobbyist, he made $5 million giving speeches and advice to various industries, including $220,000 from health care, prompting concerns that he’s the kind of Washington insider Obama has railed against. Read These Next Details are coming out about the suspect in Brown, MIT shootings. Suspect in Brown University shooting is found dead. Final text from NASCAR driver's wife is devastating to read. Photographer denies close-up shots were attacks on Trump figures. Report an error