Three Georgia lawmakers with tax troubles identified
Thursday, March 05, 2009
Three Georgia lawmakers are currently either having their paychecks garnished or have had liens or tax levies placed against them to cover delinquent state income taxes, according to records released Thursday by the state Department of Revenue.
The names were released just a few hours before the state Senate shot down a proposal to crack down on tax dodgers who serve in the state Legislature and are paid with taxpayer dollars.
State Reps. Al Williams (D-Midway), Winfred Dukes (D-Albany) and Roberta Abdul-Salaam (D-Riverdale) showed up on a list of state lawmakers with tax problems that was requested by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution under the state’s Open Records Act.
The records indicate Williams owes the state $42,672, and his state pay is being garnished. The records also indicate he has a lien of $73,049 placed against property in Midway. Williams’ wages were garnished last year, too, because of tax troubles.
“What I have to say is not printable,” Williams said when reporters asked him about his tax problems. “It’s crap.”
The lawmaker said the state actually owes him $400, and said problems with the state arose because Georgia would not permit deductions for his “church and charitable giving.”
Williams showed up in news stories last year owning $190,000 in unpaid state and federal taxes. At the time, he said it was because of a miscalculation by the state.
The records show Dukes has had a levy of $828 placed against him and Abdul-Salaam has a levy $646 against her.
Dukes said the money the revenue department is trying to collect resulted from a “misunderstanding” with state tax officials. He said if he owes the money, he will pay it.
“I’ve turned it over to my accountant,” he said. He later told reporters he had mailed a check for the tax payment Thursday morning.
Abdul-Salaam had an excused absence from the Legislature on Thursday and could not be reached for comment.
A bill that would let state senators more quickly investigate tax evaders in the state Legislature, failed in the Senate on Thursday by six votes. The bill got a vote of 32 to 16, but needed ‘yes’ votes from two-thirds of the 56-member chamber to pass.
The vote came after a very personal speech by Senate Minority Leader Robert Brown (D-Macon) who said he had filed an extension for his taxes after being sick in the hospital for months last year. There has been no indication that Brown is on any list of tax evaders.
Brown spoke about “blood-suckers” in the Legislature and posted a large photograph of Sen. Eric Johnson (R-Savannah) holding the old Georgia flag with the Confederate battle symbol on a screen in the Senate chamber.
Another Democrat alluded to Johnson’s run for Lt. Governor and called his ethics bill “political theater.”
State Revenue Commissioner Bart Graham said Wednesday that nearly 10 percent of the Legislature’s 236 lawmakers have run afoul of his department over unpaid taxes, some dating back six years.
A total of 22 lawmakers are currently considered tax evaders by the revenue department. The three names released Thursday are for lawmakers who have already had action taken against them by revenue officials.
The department said it cannot release the names of 19 other lawmakers who have failed to file state income tax returns. That list, with the names redacted, has been provided to legislative leaders who are trying to crack down on tax dodgers.
Graham said the names of those 19 lawmakers — 16 in the House and 3 in the Senate — cannot be released until the lawmakers have been served with official papers from the department and given time to respond.
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