Photo via Facebook/Text by Benjamin R. Freed

Someone, please, tell us the most bizarre part of this story: A cat runs for an open U.S. Senate seat. Said kitty is an avowed right-winger. The cat is also a carpetbagger.

Yes, we’re back on trail of Hank the Cat, the Maine Coon running as a third-party candidate for the Senate seat being vacated by Virginia Democrat Jim Webb, who is leaving after one term. And like a good candidate for federal office, Hank yesterday released his income tax filing for 2011 on his official Facebook page.

Hold on a second. We’re thinking the same thing: How the hell did some guy’s pet cat earn income? And in the form of a distribution payment from an individual retirement account of all things.

Hank “earned” $5,000 in 2011, but what’s really rich is that he also listed $5,800 in deductions, giving himself an effective tax of $0. He’s worse than Mitt Romney! Sure, the former Massachusetts governor hight have hemmed and hawed at releasing his tax returns from recent years that showed ample use of various loopholes and deductions, but at least he paid a little bit.

Furthermore, it seems pretty disingenuous for Hank to identify himself single and self-employed. He’s a house cat. If anything, he should be claimed as a dependent. At least he didn’t try to designate his litter box as a home office.

View Hank’s federal tax filing below:
04.18.2012_hanktax.pdf