Unidentified legislators sent letters over their tax bills

By Nancy Badertscher

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

The tax man’s on the backs of some Georgia legislators -- again.

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Kent D. Johnson, kdjohnson@ajc.com Georgia Department of Revenue Commissioner Bart Graham

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State Revenue Commissioner Bart Graham sent letters last Friday to an undisclosed number of House and Senate members, saying his agency has no record that the legislators have either filed a tax return or paid their taxes for 2008.

The filing deadline for 2008 taxes was Oct. 15, Graham said.

The letter-holders have 30 days “to tell us why our records are wrong,” the commissioner said Wednesday. “We’re not just giving them another 30 days to pay their taxes.”

After the 30 days, the lawmakers' status is reported to the Ethics Committee in their chamber for possible action.

Last year, at least 19 House and Senate members received the letters. All of the senators and all but three House members were able to clear up the Revenue Department’s concerns or paid their outstanding tax bills, plus penalties, legislative leaders said.

The House Ethics Committee still plans to hold hearings on its three members and could recommend sanctions up to expulsion, said Rep. Joe Wilkinson (R-Sandy Springs), the committee’s chairman.

Sen. Dan Moody (R-Johns Creek), newly appointed chair of the Senate Ethics Committee, said lawmakers are “no different” than the other Georgians who are struggling financially in a bad economy.

“They’re being compensated with a part-time salary for a full-time job,” he said. “Hurting in the General Assembly should not come as a surprise to anybody.”

A legislator who intentionally refuses to file an income tax return or pay his taxes is a different story, Moody said.

“Fundamentally, if someone in the General Assembly is thumbing their nose at the laws we have in place to collect taxes, I think we should remove them from office very quickly,” he said.

A resolution, pending in the Georgia House, would allow voters to decide whether the state Constitution should be changed to make "tax defaulters" ineligible to hold public office.

Wilkinson said the resolution has bipartisan support and should pass during the current General Assembly session.

"Not only is the public demanding it, most of the House and Senate members are demanding it," he said.

In recent years, some legislators have been hit with liens and garnishments by the state Revenue Department for delinquent taxes. Most, including new House Speaker David Ralston, quickly settled their debts to the state after they made the headlines.

In 2004, the Georgia Department of Revenue took the controversial step of identifying delinquent taxpayers -- both corporations and individuals -- on its Web site.