House Speaker David Ralston last week paid about $1,300 in overdue property taxes on land his wife owns in Dawson County, after The Atlanta Journal-Constitution contacted the speaker to inquire about the debt.
Marshall Guest, spokesman for the Blue Ridge Republican, said Ralston's failure to pay the taxes on time was an oversight.
“He wasn’t aware of it,” Guest said last week. “But now he is aware of it and he is seeking to address it.”
The property near Dawsonville is owned by Jane Ralston. Dawson County Tax Commissioner Linda Townley filed a lien against the property on April 14 for $1,321.12 in unpaid taxes, penalties and interest, records show. Deputy Tax Commissioner Lindsey Hansard said the taxes were due Dec. 1.
Ralston paid the overdue amount on Wednesday after hearing from the AJC. Records show taxes on the property have been paid late for the past four years, but this is the first time the county has placed a lien on the land to force payment.
William Perry, executive director of the good-government group Common Cause Georgia, said he is encouraged that Ralston settled the debt. But he said it is a shame that one of the state’s top political leaders would have to scramble to pay a past-due tax notice.
“I would think that individuals in the Legislature would consider themselves under greater public scrutiny and probably should keep a closer eye on those things,” he said. “Overall it’s just another one of those things that adds to the erosion of public trust in our officials.”
Ralston has been dogged by tax problems for years, facing multiple federal and state liens for late payment of taxes during the past two decades.
In 2007, Ralston paid $400,961 to the federal government for overdue taxes, interest and penalties from 1996 to 2005. He paid another $32,906 in unpaid withholding and Social Security taxes for the employees of his law firm. Ralston blamed the problems on a crooked bookkeeper who pleaded guilty to embezzlement.
Before that, Ralston paid tens of thousands of dollars to the state for tardy payments of personal income taxes.
The Dawson County bill for property in his wife’s name may seem relatively minor compared to the speaker’s earlier tax woes, but Perry said it is distressing nonetheless.
When someone has a record of paying late, “it makes a bigger thing out of a minor offense,” he said.
Guest said Ralston was conscientious about the bill -- once he knew about it.
“The bottom line is that it is being addressed,” he said.
Staff writer Aaron Gould Sheinin contributed to this report.
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