Our Governor is always talking about the lack of money coming into the state. Perhaps there would be more if he would pay his taxes:
According to documents filed in L.A. County Superior Court, Arnold Schwarzenegger owes the IRS $39,047 from 2004 and $40,016 from 2005. In total the Guv owes $79,064.00 … and as we all know, he’s definitely not saving the money for rainy day traffic violations.
An official at the L.A. County Recorder’s Office tells TMZ their system shows the lien is still active.(TMZ)
As the governor of the largest state in the union, Arnold has a committment to lead by example. Perhaps this is why he’s furloughing the Franchise Tax Board tax collectors.
You can grab the PDF of the lien form here.
From FRIDAY PM SACBEE.COM
“The issue is completely unrelated to the payment of taxes, which the governor has paid in full and on time,” McLear said. “The governor is resubmitting certain information to the IRS and we fully expect that the matter will be resolved and the lien expunged without any penalty assessed upon the governor.”
Don’t they only ASSESS a penalty for UNDERPAID OR LATE taxes due/paid? Fraud would be more than a penalty, I assume. Assumption based on regular folks. How nieve of me. 🙂
You dont get to the lien stage until you have stiffed the IRS for at least 6 months, ignoring their requests that escalate slowly over months.
That he has a lien filed means he has not paid or adequately responded to at least several notices. This isnt simply a “paperwork” issue.
He either has not paperwork, never sent it in or not explained the reason for his claim. Or worse, had that reason rejected and still didnt pay.
He would have had plenty of opportunity to send in the “paperwork,” have the IRS evaluate his claim that would be sent along with it, then find out that he was right, wrong or partly right.
It seems very appropriate, as he was governor at the time he failed to pay and correct the errant taxes, for reporters and the legislature to require full disclosure on this.
Typically, if he owes the IRS he would owe the state, as well. Though that would not always be the case.
Arnold is a prime example of a rich scofflaw. Yes, no wonder why he wants to drop tax enforcment, not provide adequate funding for programs through levies on the wealthy. He is an enabler of tax cheats.
While no fan of Arnold, it probably is more like something his accountant did not do as I seriously doubt he does his own taxes or that he personally receives his own tax notices. We can all harmonize on the chorus of ‘he is still responsible’ but we have to be reasonable on the whole intent to defraud/etc. and look at the practical flow of information on this before hanging him. This is probably more of a case of reporting errors and poor administration in the accountant office- then again when you work in government that long this sort of thing may be a contagious.
Scandals are most harmful when they play into a pre-existing narrative. If Arnold were seen by most people as cheap or crooked, having unpaid taxes would be a big problem. But that’s not really the narrative about him, so unless there is some evidence of intention on his part, this is likely to be seen as a relatively minor embarrassment. Also, doesn’t he decline his salary as governor? That’s more than $200,000 per year, or somewhere around $1 million since his election in the recall. Say what you will about his performance in office, but he’s not in this for the money.
Just like Leona Helmsley, our Governor knows that the rules only apply to others, and certainly not to the well connected. While it is unlikely that Der Gropenfuehrer had first-hand knowledge of his debts to the state, his accountants surely did. And his accountants or financial advisors surely were looking out for Der Gropenfeuhrer and not the well being of the citizens of the state of California who depend upon revenues to fund vital services and programs.