BREAKING: Rep. TJ Cox failed to pay $145,000 in income taxes
TJ Cox wants the wealthy to pay “their fair share” … just as long as he doesn’t have to pay his. Fresno Bee reports today that Congressman Cox has failed to pay more than $145,000 in federal income taxes, forcing the IRS to take drastic measures to seek payment.
Just the latest example of shady TJ saying one thing and doing another.
In case you missed it…
California Congressman Owes $145,000 In Unpaid Income Tax, According To New IRS Lien
Fresno Bee
Kate Irby
February 15, 2020
https://www.fresnobee.com/news/local/article240273921.html
Rep. TJ Cox owes nearly $145,000 in unpaid federal income tax, according to a new lien the Internal Revenue Service placed on him and his wife earlier this year.
The lien against the Fresno Democratic congressman lists about $87,000 in unpaid federal income tax for 2016 and about $57,000 in unpaid incomes tax in 2017. It says the IRS had contacted Cox and his wife about the debt prior to filing the lien.
“We have made a demand for payment of this liability, but it remains unpaid,” the lien notice, placed on Jan. 27, states. “Therefore, there is a lien in favor of the United States on all property and rights to property belonging to this taxpayer for the amount of these taxes, and additional penalties, interest, and costs that may accrue.”
A representative from Cox’s re-election campaign said the congressman is in the process of paying the IRS and is currently on a repayment plan.
Cox was an entrepreneur for decades, founding dozens of businesses in real estate, health care and various production companies. He resigned from or dissolved the majority of those businesses in June 2019, after he was elected to Congress.
His financial disclosure covering 2016 and 2017 lists five different sources of significant income, ranging from $50,000 per year to up to $1 million per year, plus dozens of smaller sources of income.
It’s not the first time Cox has had a federal lien assessed against him and his wife. He previously paid off a $48,000 lien in November 2017 that the IRS assessed against him for unpaid income taxes for 2015.
Cox blamed that lien on “bureaucratic incompetence,” according to a quote in The Mercury News in March 2018.
“My check was stuck on the back of somebody else’s payment,” Cox told the newspaper.
Cox was one of seven Democrats who flipped Republican-held California congressional districts in November 2018. He defeated Rep. David Valadao, R-Hanford, in what was the closest election of the year. …
Sam Brotman, owner of the San Diego-based tax firm Brotman Law, said the lien suggests Cox has some kind of financial or bookkeeping problem.
“Multiple years of this usually means there’s either something causing someone to do this, maybe a cash flow problem, or they have a bad accountant,” Brotman said.
Brotman said the IRS typically sends at least three notices by mail to a delinquent taxpayer before filing a lien. If the IRS does not receive payment or a letter disputing what is owed, the debt goes to collections.
Following two more written notices, the IRS files a lien against the person’s property, Brotman said.
“Lien filing is highly suggestive that this person does owe this liability, or they would’ve challenged it before it became a lien,” Brotman said.
“I would hope a sitting U.S. congressman would not be so derelict in paying his income taxes,” he added.