Taxes Are For The Little People
As The Post’s Isabel Vincent and Melissa Klein reported last year, Sharpton “owe[d] the IRS $2.6 million in income tax, and nearly $900,000 in state tax.”
And his personal pride and joy National Action Network owed more than $880,000 in unpaid federal payroll taxes, interest and penalties, Vincent and Klein found.
Which makes Obama’s decision to invite Sharpton (and several other MSNBC hosts) baffling. Why ask a man with a terminal case of tax allergies to make the case for higher rates for everybody else?
The Rev’s issues go back decades: In 1993, for example, he pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor tax crime to avoid two felony charges. In the years since, the IRS has issued a dozen liens against Sharpton’s groups, including one against him for $538,652 in 2010. Asked about all this yesterday — specifically, whether he’s gotten square with the tax man — Sharpton said simply that he has “resolved all matters.” But his spokeswoman later refused to respond to a simple question: Has Sharpton actually paid his taxes? Nevertheless, it’s clear that the reverend intends to preach Obama’s tax-hike gospel. After leaving the White House Tuesday, he dedicated a 12-minute segment on his MSNBC show to the need for “a tax increase on the richest in this country.”
Since Obama is targeting those who make more than $200,000 a year, the “richest” set actually includes Sharpton himself — who pulls in $240,000 annually from the National Action Network alone, and never mind his MSNBC gig.
But here’s the bottom line: Sharpton is happy to spread the gospel about “tax fairness,” but if tax law were “fair” — that is, if it were applied to him like everybody else — he’d have been out of the picture a very long time ago. It’s as simple as that.
Courtesy: The New York Post
