Sherrod Brown has a tax problem. A BIG tax problem. It was reported yesterday in Human Events, and then subsequently by The Plain Dealer, The Columbus Dispatch, thirteen Associated Press outlets and Big Government that Sherrod Brown was more than four months delinquent in paying taxes on his Washington, D.C. apartment. Brown, who votes with Barack Obama ninety-five percent of the time, didn’t bother to pay his taxes until a reporter informed him that he was in arrears.
What’s incredibly shameful about Sherrod Brown’s delinquency is that this is not the first time he’s missed paying his taxes. He paid late property taxes in 2006 and 2007 resulting in additional fines and fees in excess of $700.
Please take a moment to share the articles below with your friends and neighbors, or post the news on your Republican website, Twitter feed and Facebook profile. It’s important for Ohioans to understand that Sherrod Brown believes it’s acceptable to increase taxes upon small business owners and families, while he evades them in Washington.
In 1993, Brown promised in a Youngtown Vindicator article entitled “Rep. Brown Vows Not to Live in D.C.” that he wouldn’t live in Washington. Come this November when we send Josh Mandel to the U.S. Senate, Ohioans will hold Brown to his word.
Cleveland Plain Dealer: Sen. Sherrod Brown was delinquent on taxes for his D.C. condo
By Steve Koff
Link: http://bit.ly/ApfhtT
WASHINGTON — Ohio Democratic U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown was more than four months delinquent in paying taxes on his Washington., D.C., apartment and had to pay a penalty and interest last week.
This was not the first time, records show.
Brown also was delinquent in 2006 and 2007 and paid penalties and interest, according to tax records from the District of Columbia.
“I was late,” he said on a conference call with reporters when asked about the recent delinquency. “I misplaced the bill and I paid it as soon as I found out. I paid a penalty for being late, and it won’t happen again.”
When a reporter noted that it also happened five and six years ago, Brown said, “I misplaced it then. This is a small apartment. I’m not in D.C. nearly every week, I’m here when the Senate’s in session, I’m here three or four nights a week. I paid the penalty. And in no way, obviously, was I avoiding taxes.”
He owed $922.04 in property taxes for the last half of 2011. The taxes were due by Sept. 26, according to the District property tax office. His delinquency added another $76.96 as a late penalty and $46.18 for interest.
His three back-to-back tax delinquencies in 2006 and 2007 resulted in Brown having to pay $735.07 cumulatively in late charges and interest then, the records show. Each of those original tax bills, excluding interest and fines, was for less than $900.
Human Events, a conservative magazine and website, first reported on the recent delinquency this morning. It said Brown paid the bill Feb. 8 after being told by a reporter that he was late.
Brown won his Senate seat in 2006 after serving seven terms in the House of Representatives. He is up for reelection this year, likely to face Ohio Treasurer Josh Mandel in November. Brown’s support for tax hikes for wealthy Americans and other policies that the U.S. Chamber of Commerce oppose makes his personal tax lapses irrestable to his critics.
“It’s shameful that Sherrod Brown is intent on increasing taxes upon small business owners and families in Ohio, while he evades them in Washington,” Ohio Republican Party spokesman Chris Maloney said in a statement. “The fact that Sherrod Brown neglected to pay his taxes speaks to the larger issue that after 38 years in government he is out of touch with the everyday struggles and responsibilities of Ohio families.”
Columbus Dispatch: Brown admits he was late on property tax
By Jack Torry
Link: http://bit.ly/AFecFS
Sen. Sherrod Brown acknowledged today that he was late paying 2011 property tax on a 400-square-foot apartment he has owned for 20 years in Washington.
In a conference call with reporters, the Ohio Democrat said he had “misplaced the bill” in his Washington apartment.
“I paid a penalty for being late,” Brown said. “And it won’t happen again.”
Brown said he is in the apartment only when Congress is in session, which he said explained how he misplaced the bill. Although Brown said he could not recall exactly how much the payment was, a story on the web site of the conservative organization Human Events said the overdue payment was $892.74. Human Events reported that Brown paid the bill the same day that an Ohio reporter called Brown’s office to ask about the tax.
“I know as soon as I found out, I paid the bill,” Brown said.
According to District of Columbia tax records, it was the second time in six years that Brown was late in paying property taxes on the apartment. In 2006, he was assessed $459.89 in penalties and late fees for his property tax of $1,699.64.
In early 2007, according to District records, the property was placed on an auction list because of being late on his 2006 property taxes. Once he paid the bill, the apartment was taken off the list.
The Plain Dealer first reported that Brown’s apartment had been placed on the auction list.
Republican campaign operatives first alerted reporters to the late property tax. Chris Maloney, a spokesman for the Ohio Republican Party, said, “it’s shameful that Sherrod Brown is intent on increasing taxes upon small business owners and families in Ohio, while he evades them in Washington.”
Associated Press: Ohio’s US Sen. Sherrod Brown was late on his taxes
By Associated Press
Link: http://bit.ly/AfI6U
CLEVELAND – Ohio’s U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown was more than four months late paying a $922 tax bill on his Washington, D.C., condo apartment and got slapped with $123 in penalties and interest.
The first-term Democrat, who is running for re-election this year, settled the tax bill last week.
Spokeswoman Meghan Dubyak said Wednesday the senator misplaced the bill and paid it as soon as he found it. She says he’s determined not to let it happen again.
Human Events, a conservative magazine and website, first reported the late tax earlier Wednesday.
The Plain Dealer also reported Wednesday that Brown also was delinquent in 2006 and 2007 and had to pay penalties and interest, according to DC tax records.
Human Events: Buckeye liberal owes bucks to D.C.
By John Watts
Link: http://bit.ly/zW3Jje
A spokesman for the Ohio Republican Party blasted Sen. Sherrod C. Brown, (D-Ohio),and the hypocrisy one of the Senate’s strongest advocates for higher taxes being delinquent in his District of Columbia property taxes.
Brown should have more understanding for taxpayers, said Christopher Maloney, a spokesman for the Ohio GOP. Brown is up for election this face and his Republican challenger will be Josh Mandel, the state’s treasurer.
“It’s shameful that Sherrod Brown is intent on increasing taxes upon small business owners and families in Ohio, while he evades them in Washington,” Maloney said.
“The fact that Sherrod Brown neglected to pay his taxes speaks to the larger issue that after 38 years in government he is out of touch with the everyday struggles and responsibilities of Ohio families,” he said.
National Republican Senate Committee spokesman Jahan Wilcox, said, “It’s ironic that at the same time he’s trying to raise taxes on small business owners in Ohio, Sherrod Brown himself cannot even pay his own taxes on time.”
Brown is the same man, who supports raising the estate tax, which forces many Ohio family owned businesses and farm either shut down or sell out of the family.
“With so many families struggling from the failed tax-and-spend policies of Barack Obama and Sherrod Brown this just reiterates why we need to overhaul the current system to ensure that it’s fair and simple for every Ohioan,” he said.
Brown was overdue $892.74 for the property taxes due on his Seward Square condominium, located roughly a half-mile behind the Capitol as Feb. 4, according to the DC Office of Tax and Revenue database. The unit is valued in the database at $222,280.
Brown made the payment the same day an Ohio-based reporter called Brown’s office to ask about the delinquency. The reporter was told that there was no money due.
The payment left a balance of $11.71, said the clerk, who would not discuss what fines, penalties were charged to Brown’s account.
