Another Pol With Tax Problems

[lichum]

Mayor Dellums, wife owe $239K in back taxes


Henry K. Lee, Chronicle Staff Writer
Wednesday, November 4, 2009


(11-03) 15:20 PST OAKLAND -- Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums and his wife failed to pay more than $239,000 in taxes over a three-year period and have had a lien slapped on their property by the Internal Revenue Service, public records show.





Dellums, 73, and his wife, Cynthia, 55, who acts as his unpaid adviser, are named in an IRS lien filed with the Alameda County recorder's office Oct. 14. A lien naming Ron Dellums was also filed Oct. 22 in Washington, D.C., where he lived for more than 30 years as a member of Congress and a lobbyist.
The Alameda County lien says the couple failed to pay $124,198 in federal income taxes in 2005, $66,554 in 2006 and $48,246 in 2007, the year Dellums took office as mayor.
The tax lien was imposed on all the couple's personal property, meaning they cannot pocket proceeds from any transactions without first paying off the IRS.
The Dellumses own a house in the Foxhall Crescent neighborhood of Washington, which was assessed at $1.4 million in 2007, public records show. They rent a four-bedroom, three-bathroom home with 3,200 square feet on Skyline Boulevard in the Oakland hills.
'We owe taxes'

Ron Dellums issued a statement Tuesday saying, "We owe taxes. The matter is being dealt with and will be resolved in short order."
The mayor's tax problems were first reported Monday by the East Bay Express.
Michael Semler, a professor of politics at Cal State Sacramento, said Tuesday that he was "disturbed" that the mayor might owe tens of thousands of dollars in back taxes.
"Political leaders, just like anyone else, can get into financial difficulties for whatever reason," Semler said. "But they have an obligation to keep the public informed and assure the public that they are not engaged in any practice that would compromise their position."
Dellums' political future, including his chances of continuing as mayor for a second term, will hinge on "whether he feels he has two masters, the city and the taxman, or if he can be loyal to the city of Oakland," Semler said. "I think it's a problem, but it doesn't automatically disqualify him."
But Kristin Pace, an Oakland tax attorney, said, "Politically, it's not a good sign for him, because the IRS does give you a lot of opportunities to deal with tax problems. It just shows, I think, a lack of responsiveness. I rarely have clients where things get to the lien state. He's pretty far down the path."
Unsure on re-election

Dellums' spokesman, Paul Rose, declined to comment about the tax matter Tuesday beyond what the mayor said in his statement. Dellums has not decided yet whether to run for re-election next year, he said.
The Dellumses' tax difficulties date to 2005, seven years after Ron Dellums retired from Congress and founded a Washington lobbying firm, Dellums and Associates.
That year, the firm earned $90,000 in lobbying income - $70,000 from Rolls-Royce North America and $20,000 from the AIDS Healthcare Foundation - according to the Center for Responsive Politics, a nonpartisan research group.
In 2006, the lobbying firm received $100,000 from Verizon Communications, $120,000 from the Rolls-Royce group and $20,000 from the AIDS foundation.
On leave as lobbyist

In January 2007, Dellums took over as mayor, a job that pays $184,000 a year, and went on leave from his lobbying firm. His wife does not have a paying job.
It is not known what the Dellumses' other sources of income were for the last several years, although Ron Dellums is eligible for a congressional pension. In 2007 and 2008, the mayor filed statements of economic interest with the Oakland city clerk's office stating that he had no reportable interests.
In July, the mayor, a stalwart of progressive ideals, announced a tax penalty amnesty program under which Oakland businesses with unpaid taxes or underreported gross receipts could file with the city without penalty during a three-month period ending Oct. 31.
"As Oakland deals with these difficult financial times, it is essential that all possible revenue - taxes and otherwise - are collected so that we can fund crucial services," Dellums said in announcing the program.

[fishsticking]

Cool, a non partisan post pointing that some politician is screwing the people by not paying his taxes. (At least i did not read in the post that he was a Dem or a Rep, not that that seems to matter much when it comes to politicians screwing the people.)

[lichum]

Originally Posted by fishsticking

Cool, a non partisan post pointing that some politician is screwing the people by not paying his taxes. (At least i did not read in the post that he was a Dem or a Rep, not that that seems to matter much when it comes to politicians screwing the people.)

Just another pol..........