Al Sharpton owes $4.5 million in unpaid taxes

[WackyDan]

"Civil rights leader and MSNBC host Al Sharpton and his for-profit business owe more than $4.5 million in current state and federal taxes, according to a New York Times report out Tuesday."

http://www.cnn.com/2014/11/19/politics/al-sharpton-finance/index.html?hpt=hp_t2

I find it ironic that this "civil rights" leader is so far behind on taxes while certainly wealthy. That $4.5 million would certainly help many of his fellow African Americans and others in poverty in the US who depend on tax revenue for their food, housing, and other social safety net benefits.

I hope this is the final blow to his credibility but I know that won't be the case.

 

[smackababy]

Taxes are inherently racist. They are levied by the white man to keep a brotha down, even if he makes millions of dollars. Everyone knows this! Fight the taxes!

/Al Sharpton response

 

[HomerJS]

"Civil rights leader and MSNBC host Al Sharpton and his for-profit business owe more than $4.5 million in current state and federal taxes, according to a New York Times report out Tuesday."

http://www.cnn.com/2014/11/19/politics/al-sharpton-finance/index.html?hpt=hp_t2

I find it ironic that this "civil rights" leader is so far behind on taxes while certainly wealthy. That $4.5 million would certainly help many of his fellow African Americans and others in poverty in the US who depend on tax revenue for their food, housing, and other social safety net benefits.

I hope this is the final blow to his credibility but I know that won't be the case.

As much as the Republican congressman who refused to pay his child support.

 

[TechBoyJK]

I get bent if I owe $800 in taxes. I can't imagine shouldering a $4.5M tax burden. Fuck.

 

[Hayabusa Rider]

As much as the Republican congressman who refused to pay his child support.

The Republican Congressmen should pay child support, as should Democrats if there are any. They should pay the penalty as well.

Here's the penalty for Sharpton.

Any person who willfully attempts in any manner to evade or defeat any tax imposed by this title or the payment thereof shall, in addition to other penalties provided by law, be guilty of a felony and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not more than $100,000 ($500,000 in the case of a corporation), or imprisoned not more than 5 years, or both, together with the costs of prosecution.

At 4.5 mil the fine plus jail time seems about right. The Congressman should pay his dues too.

 

[WackyDan]

I get bent if I owe $800 in taxes. I can't imagine shouldering a $4.5M tax burden. Fuck.

Think about the tax rate.... Assume 25% give or take? That means he dodged taxes on roughly $20 million in revenue/pay.

He is a great con man, but you can't con the gov't on your taxes for long.

 

[WackyDan]

As much as the Republican congressman who refused to pay his child support.

Here you are attempting to deflect once again.

So you are in support of Sharpton dodging taxes?

For the record, child support should get paid, but I've also seen where there are real reasons why it doesn't and perhaps shouldn't be. Don't confuse not paying gov't taxes with child support payments. Once is a civil agreement/judgement subject to the issues that two people bring into the equation. The other is breaking the law.

 

[Hayabusa Rider]

Think about the tax rate.... Assume 25% give or take? That means he dodged taxes on roughly $20 million in revenue/pay.

He is a great con man, but you can't con the gov't on your taxes for long.

I bet he can.

 

[Svnla]

In before the "sooooo rrrraaaaccccciiiiissssssttttt", "but...but...look at big whitey companies do not pay taxes" and <insert countless excuses and more deflections> crowd gets here.


Just as the old saying "Do as I say and not as I do" eh? Mr. Sharpton? Or only little people/chumps pay taxes?

 

[Atomic Playboy]

Power corrupts. Though it's not terribly surprising that an ideologue who has made a career out of "standing up to the man" would decide that taxes weren't his thing.

 

[cubby1223]

The more you own, the more you owe. And once you start owing a lot on the many things you own, it gets very difficult to keep up on the owing side of the equation. Maybe the donations from the community to the reverend have been dropping significantly and is no longer enough to afford all the expenses he has on his lavish lifestyle.

Will be interesting to see if MSNBC lumps him in with the rest of the American-hating rich they vilify so much on their station.

 

[Cozarkian]

Think about the tax rate.... Assume 25% give or take? That means he dodged taxes on roughly $20 million in revenue/pay.

He is a great con man, but you can't con the gov't on your taxes for long.

Why would you assume a guy with a 4.5 million tax bill is in the middle tax bracket? I would guess he is in the highest bracket. Also, the 4.5 million probably includes interest and penalties, so I'd estimate he dodged closer to $10 million in profit/pay.

 

[ivwshane]

Lots of people owe taxes, the more important question is; is he actively trying to avoid paying them?

The answer of course is in the article.

 

[shortylickens]

What, you mean an angry lying manipulative asshole isnt completely honest in his personal finances?

Thats just insane.

 

[Newell Steamer]

He is an idiot - if he didn't want to pay all those taxes, he should have incorporated!

 

[WHAMPOM]

"Civil rights leader and MSNBC host Al Sharpton and his for-profit business owe more than $4.5 million in current state and federal taxes, according to a New York Times report out Tuesday."

http://www.cnn.com/2014/11/19/politics/al-sharpton-finance/index.html?hpt=hp_t2

I find it ironic that this "civil rights" leader is so far behind on taxes while certainly wealthy. That $4.5 million would certainly help many of his fellow African Americans and others in poverty in the US who depend on tax revenue for their food, housing, and other social safety net benefits.

I hope this is the final blow to his credibility but I know that won't be the case.

Tisk, tisk! Just not big enough, smart enough or politically connected enough to pay NO taxes like our biggest corporations/CEOs do.

 

[boomerang]

The more you own, the more you owe. And once you start owing a lot on the many things you own, it gets very difficult to keep up on the owing side of the equation. Maybe the donations from the community to the reverend have been dropping significantly and is no longer enough to afford all the expenses he has on his lavish lifestyle.

Will be interesting to see if MSNBC lumps him in with the rest of the American-hating rich they vilify so much on their station.

I see that the CNN article didn't go into much detail. A portion of that is unpaid federal payroll taxes. Why the IRS has not seized his bank accounts remains a mystery. j/k, it's not a mystery.

It may be important to remember that Sharpton is one of Obama's key advisor's.

36 Obama aides owe $833,000 in back taxes It's an article from 2012, so maybe they've all paid up. But how would we know...?

​

 

[rudder]

As much as the Republican congressman who refused to pay his child support.

So start a thread about the congressman. Sorry that talking bad about Al Sharpton upsets you so.

 

[Sonikku]

He owes more than General Electric. But that can only mean he's raking in more money too, right? He can afford it.

 

[BoberFett]

He is an idiot - if he didn't want to pay all those taxes, he should have incorporated!

Al Sharpton and his for-profit business

Fail.

 

[cubby1223]

Lots of people owe taxes, the more important question is; is he actively trying to avoid paying them?

The answer of course is in the article.

The New York Times article (that CNN used for it's blurbs) paints a picture that Sharpton is keeping up with the payments not enough to pay them off but just enough to stop the hammer of the justice system from whacking him down. The Times article is pretty vicous

...Mr. Sharpton and the National Action Network have repeatedly failed to pay travel agencies, hotels and landlords. He has leaned on the generosity of friends and sometimes even the organization, intermingling its finances with his own to cover his daughters&#8217; private school tuition...

I actually do fully agree with you that the answer is in the article.

 

[cubby1223]

He is an idiot - if he didn't want to pay all those taxes, he should have incorporated!

That's what he did. He has his for-profit business, his not-for-profit organization, and himself. And he shuffles money between the three to avoid having to pay his fair share.

 

[unokitty]

In Europe, they have royalty. In America, we have politicians.

If you think that the same laws that apply to you, also apply to Obama's political friends like the Rev Sharpton, you haven't been paying attention.

Even if Sharpton was ever convicted, Obama could just pardon him. Same way that Clinton pardoned Marc Rich.

USA where everyone is equal. And politicians and their friends are more equal.

Uno

 

[OutHouse]

what does he do that he can get billed 4.5 mill in taxes?

 

[nageov3t]

what does he do that he can get billed 4.5 mill in taxes?

his non-profit group basically just stopped paying payroll taxes so they could pay his rent and his daughter's tuition with the money instead... not to mention the salary he takes from that group of like $250k?