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| -Lurid Crime Tales- | |
| Rev. AL'S Half-price deal on $1.8M taxes. | |
| 2009-03-29 | |
The Rev. Al Sharpton owed at least $1.8 million in back taxes before striking a sweetheart deal with the feds last summer that chopped the bill almost in half and kept him out of the slammer, The Post has learned.
Treasury Department officers say Sharpton owed $351,798 from 2007, according to a document filed March 3 with the New York County Register Office. This unpaid balance -- a potential mix of back taxes and penalties -- comes on top of a federal lien filed last Nov. 13 for $1,367,521 covering tax years 2005 and 2006. All the liens are filed as "1040" or personal income tax and listed his address as 680 Madison Ave. -- the uber-swanky Helmsley Carlton House where Sharpton resides. Last July, Sharpton cut a deal with federal prosecutors in Brooklyn to end a longstanding criminal probe of his finances that reportedly encompassed his personal fortune, his quixotic 2004 presidential campaign spending and the National Action Network, his advocacy group. Sharpton said he'd personally pay back $1 million, including $500,000 upfront, as part of the settlement. But, the liens show his debts ran much deeper. "Rev. Al Sharpton is meeting his tax obligations with the IRS through an agreement that was completed in late summer of 2008. Since that time, he has made substantial payments and continues to do so. Any federal tax liens that have been filed are inclusive of all years included in the agreement. As those payments have been made, tax liens have been released," said longtime Sharpton attorney Michael Hardy. So far, only two additional liens worth $90,753 were released since the settlement, records show. IRS protocol allows tax debtors to immediately remove paid debts from their record by calling a toll-free 800 number. Liens, which are a claim on property to cover a debt, are the last step the IRS will take before seizing a debtor's assets. Sharpton also was hit with a $19,914 lien filed on Dec. 31, 2008, from unpaid taxes in 1996. Meanwhile, Sharpton also owes the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance, which was not part of the July settlement, $884,669, according to two liens covering years 2002 through 2006. Hardy said those debts are being addressed. Sharpton reportedly earns $750,000 a year hosting a syndicated radio talk show. He also collects anywhere from $15,000 to $20,000 per lecture and $2,000 per church sermon. On top of that, Sharpton does "consulting" work for corporations. | |
| Posted by:Besoeker |
| #11 "Mr. Wife secretly worked at home on the weekend, after being warned that if continued going to the office he would be hauled up before the Works Council for setting a bad example" And they wonder why their economy sucks.... |
| Posted by: Barbara Skolaut 2009-03-29 22:11 |
| #10 @tw when did you file and did you ever hear back from German tax office? For tax years 1991-1995. In July, 1995 we moved to Brussels, and end-August 1996 we moved back to the US. Deloitte & Touche will keep our returns on file until Germany decides what to do, and then will inform us. I am under the impression that Mr. Wife's company will cover any taxes in excess of what was already paid... but at the rate this is being worked through over there, I expect it will be a problem for the trailing daughters, far in the future. We did pay our part of what D&T calculated was owed, the company paying the rest -- neither we nor the company would have been happy leaving that for the future, as it does so mess up the books to carry estimated expenses for years on end. To tell you the truth, if we could have figured out how to keep the German government from sending us a check after trailing daughter #2 was born on their soil, I would have been much happier, as we did not need that money and others did. But it was explained that it would cost the government more than the payment to fight our refusal, so we gave up. On the other hand, Mr. Wife secretly worked at home on the weekend, after being warned that if continued going to the office he would be hauled up before the Works Council for setting a bad example, so we hope his excess labour offset our cut from your taxes. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2009-03-29 21:52 |
| #9 As if Sharpton will ever pay up. |
| Posted by: Grunter 2009-03-29 20:07 |
| #8 As for the Reverand Sharpton, he is long overdue for a long vacation in prison. Yes overdue but we probably won't see Rev. Al at the Graybar Hotel anytime soon TW. |
| Posted by: JohnQC 2009-03-29 19:38 |
| #7 @tw when did you file and did you ever hear back from German tax office? |
| Posted by: European Conservative 2009-03-29 19:38 |
| #6 The form may be easier, but it's not the form that matters. Actually when you run a business in Germany, you are advised to cheat a little (just a little), because if the tax inspector doesn't find anything he'll get suspicious and will run through your declarations until he finds something, and that may take a while. |
| Posted by: European Conservative 2009-03-29 19:36 |
| #5 I must confess that I found the US tax code even more bizarre and byzantine than the German one The U.S. tax code is significantly more bizarre and byzantine than Germany's, European Conservative; but then, we've been working on this particular set of rules since, I belive, the first world war. When we lived in Germany, Mr. Wife's employer paid Deloitte & Touche to do our taxes for both countries; the German form was four or five pages long, while the American one required a 2" (5 cm) binder. Granted, we still haven't finalized what we owe to Germany because Germany hasn't yet finalized how Americans working there as expatriates are to be taxed... they've been working on it since 1947 or so, and there are occasional rumours that they're getting close, but these are Germans, so they will be meticulous and thorough in their decision-making, however long that takes. As for the Reverand Sharpton, he is long overdue for a long vacation in prison. Hopefully this time someone will actually make it stick. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2009-03-29 19:28 |
| #4 $2,000 per church sermon... Oh America... |
| Posted by: European Conservative 2009-03-29 18:55 |
| #3 No sh*t, EC. :-( |
| Posted by: Barbara Skolaut 2009-03-29 16:24 |
| #2 I must confess that I found the US tax code even more bizarre and byzantine than the German one and that's saying something. |
| Posted by: European Conservative 2009-03-29 16:11 |
| #1 Jeezus Christ - if all the Dems would pay all the taxes they owe, neither the Feds nor the states would have any financial woes. |
| Posted by: Barbara Skolaut 2009-03-29 15:25 |