Tax cheats could be barred from holding elected office

By Nancy Badertscher

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Some legislators are pushing for a constitutional amendment to get tax cheats out of their ranks -- and out of Georgia politics in general.

Such a measure would prevent delinquent and nonfiling taxpayers from holding public office.

In recent years, some of Georgia’s best-known tax cheats have been in the Legislature, with past-due tax bills in the tens of thousands of dollars.

But tax delinquents don’t belong in the House or Senate or in any elected position, from city council member to governor, said Rep. Calvin Hill (R-Canton), the amendment’s sponsor.

“I believe everybody should have their feet held to the fire,” Hill said. “The least we [as legislators] can do is follow the laws we make.”

If approved by the Legislature and voters, Hill’s constitutional amendment would bar from public office anyone who fails in a timely manner to file a state income tax return or pay his taxes. Payment plans, even not-so-voluntary paycheck garnishment, would be acceptable, he said.

The State Ethics Commission would have the power to remove the officeholder. The commission also would have the authority to investigate complaints about candidates and potentially keep their names off the ballot, Hill said.

The chairmen of the House and Senate Ethics committees said Hill’s amendment should have widespread support from both parties.

“Why should you be in a position of establishing laws for the residents of this state when you don’t abide by one of the basics?” asked Senate Ethics Chairman Dan Moody (R-Johns Creek).

Legislators said they thought they dealt with the problem of tax cheats in their ranks  last year, having passed a bill requiring the state revenue commissioner to report to the House and Senate Ethics committees the names of lawmakers who had not filed or paid state income taxes.

The law required that the revenue commissioner first give a legislator 30 days to prove the tax bill was in error.

Twenty-two of the 236 members of the General Assembly received the 30-day notice last year, and three of them -- all House members -- still face Ethics Committee hearings over their 2007 taxes.

This week, Revenue Commissioner Bart Graham confirmed that his office has just sent out letters to some lawmakers about their 2008 tax bills. Graham would not say how many are involved.

“I feel greatly saddened that -- especially after last year -- people haven’t cleaned up their acts,” Hill said. “I don’t know any of the facts, but if it were me, I would have done everything I could have to correct the situation.”

Graham said he welcomes any help.

“We appreciate any organization helping us get to the result where we don’t have to chase people down indefinitely,” Graham said.

Bob Irvin, chairman of the watchdog group Common Cause Georgia and a former legislator himself, said he supports Hill’s proposal in principle.

“The issue, of course, is how you accommodate a situation where there is an active, bona fide dispute about the taxes in question,” Irvin said. “It may be that the constitutional amendment will need an enabling statute to create a process to determine those facts.”

Several ethics bills have been introduced in the current legislative session, which began with the election of Rep. David Ralston (R-Blue Ridge) as speaker. Ralston replaced Glenn Richardson, who resigned after his ex-wife said he'd had an affair with a Capitol lobbyist.

At least two of the bills call for the creation of a cap on spending on legislators by lobbyists. One bill would limit the value of a single gift to a legislator at $25, and another would set a  $100 cap.