For free.

Since 2000, members of Utah's congressional delegation took a family member with them on 28 trips valued at nearly $131,000, from Venice to Istanbul to Cabo San Lucas, all on the dime of corporations seeking to curry favor or associations or schools looking for a speaker.

The cost of the families' travel - not including the elected officials' cost - is nearly $65,000, money that accountants say is classified as taxable income. Members aren't so sure it is.

Members of Congress are allowed to bring a relative along on trips paid for by third-party organizations, and Utah's delegation has taken advantage of that ability when they fly to exotic or impressive locales.

But unlike other business travelers - who must claim the travel as income and pay taxes on a family member's portion if it's not business related - members of Congress apparently haven't paid taxes on the family members' cost.

"This is an ideal example of how out of touch Congress really is," says Craig Holman, a lobbyist for the watchdog group Public Citizen. "Congress is the entity that wrote this tax code that the rest of us have to follow. They're the only ones who think they're above it."

Public Citizen filed a complaint this month with the Internal Revenue Service asking for an investigation into whether members of Congress have skirted tax law by not paying taxes on family members' travel.

The group, which based its complaint on a Detroit News story on the lack of tax payment, figures members of Congress brought along a family member on 2,224 trips since 2000 at a cost of $4.4 million.

Sen. Orrin Hatch's wife, Elaine, has joined him on 10 trips since 2000, according to the Center for Responsive Politics and the Center for Public Integrity, at a cost of nearly $7,000 for her travel.

Hatch's office cited Senate rules showing that a sponsor may pay for a spouse or child to travel with the senator if it is "appropriate to assist in the representation of the Senate."

In a statement, Hatch said his wife is "more crucial to my success as a senator than anyone on my staff."

"She's a terrific ambassador for Utah, and when she travels with me, she's representing the Senate and our state, not herself," he added, noting that the direction from the Senate ethics manual shows a spouse is covered by the same rules that apply to a senator.

Holman, of Public Citizen, says the argument is bogus. There are not 535 first ladies on the Hill, he says.

"Members of Congress are definitely wrong when they're trying to claim the first lady exemption for travel with their spouses," Holman says, noting the actual first lady of the White House is employed by the federal government and has a ceremonial title, but members' spouses do not. "They do not have any official title; they do not represent Congress. Nor do we have [congressional] first children, or first parents."

Emily Christensen, spokeswoman for Bennett, said, "These trips fall under the category of official duties of a member and spouse as outlined in the Senate ethics rules."

The Detroit News quoted veteran H&R Block tax specialist Maggie Doedtman as saying such arguments don't pass the "sniff test." Tax law says that if a spouse or family member is traveling on a business trip they must be employed by the company, have a bona fide purpose to be on the trip and be able to deduct the travel expenses themselves if filing separately.

"If a congressperson asked if he or she could exclude such expenses from income, I'd explain that I'm not aware of a scenario whether it would be legal without meeting those tests," Doedtman told the News.

Utah's House members are willing to pay taxes on their travel if they are told they must.

In the past six years, Cannon has taken one trip with his wife, Claudia, to the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. The cost for her travel was $163, records show. Cannon's office was unsure if the congressman paid taxes on that, but he will "if the IRS says so."

"He feels that, like any other taxpayer, members should follow the tax code of the IRS and pay whatever taxes they are responsible for," Cannon's spokesman Charles Isom said, adding that he doesn't take many trips. But "when he does take trips like these, he's there working and doesn't treat them as leisure times."

Matheson and wife, Amy Herbener, took trips from private entities to Key Largo, Fla.; Berlin; Jackson Hole, Wyo.; and Sydney, Australia. The tab for the latter was $12,402 - per person.

In a statement, Matheson said it is always his intention to follow the rules, including rules governing congressional travel. "With respect to IRS tax policy, should a decision be made, I would follow that as well," he said.

Bishop Ð who served his LDS Church mission in Germany, speaks fluent German and is vice chairman of the Congressional German Study Group Ð has taken two sons and his wife, Jeralynn, to Germany, all paid for by the U.S. Association of Former Members. He also flew to Israel with Jeralynn.

Bishop's chief of staff, Scott Parker, says his boss doesn't "particularly enjoy travel, so having a member of his family join him makes it more pleasant."

And Parker added that he believes most Utahns would want a private entity paying for the travel instead of taxpayers, but that if Bishop needs to pay taxes on the family members' share, he will.

"He'd be fine with that if that's required," Parker said.

Congress had debated this year granting an exemption for small businesses to not pay taxes on their spouse's travel, so members should be aware of the tax law, says Pete Sepp, spokesman for the National Taxpayers Union. But the small businesses will still have to pay the tax while members of Congress apparently aren't.

"Obviously that will get a lot of business owners' blood boiling," says Sepp. "It is on Congress' radar screen. They've just chosen to fly by stealth."

tburr@sltrib.com