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Jennings went years without paying taxes on payrolls, FEC reports show |
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By Aaron Blake
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Posted: 07/31/07 07:57 PM [ET] |
Democratic congressional candidate Christine Jennings went more than a year without paying taxes on both of her campaign committees’ payrolls, Federal Election Commission (FEC) reports show.
Jennings paid no payroll taxes on one committee, “Chris Jennings for Congress,” until May 23 of this year, more than three years after its first salary payment. On another committee, “Christine Jennings for Congress,” Jennings paid no payroll taxes until July 31, 2006, about 13 months after its first salary payment.
“Chris Jennings for Congress,” which Jennings used for her 2004 campaign in Florida’s 13th congressional district, lists a lump sum of $23,835.93 paid to the IRS on May 23. The payment came after years of inactivity.
The latter committee, which she used for her 2006 bid for the same seat, includes 15 separate payments to the IRS totaling more than $100,000 between July 31 and the end of 2006, but no payments prior to that period.
Jennings announced two weeks ago that she would run for the seat again in 2008.
The Jennings campaign said it discovered the late payments internally.
“When Christine recognized the problem, she took steps to fix it — to correct the problem,” spokesman David Kochman said. “That includes contracting with a payroll service.”
Kochman said the campaign hired Paychex, a company that specializes in payroll, when it learned about the unpaid taxes. He said he isn’t aware of any penalties Jennings had to pay.
When Jennings was running in the Democratic primary last year, she attacked her opponent, Jan Schneider, for failing to pay taxes on a Washington, D.C., condominium while Schneider lived in the district.
Jennings told the Sarasota Herald-Tribune that she was merely “giving information to voters.” Schneider said the taxes were paid late due to a mailing mix-up.
Jennings also made an issue of Rep. Vern Buchanan’s (R) tax history in the general election.
The IRS is not allowed to disclose any notifications or penalties concerning payroll taxes, a spokesman said Monday.
The “Christine Jennings” committee paid about $100,000 to its employees in the 13 months before its first payroll tax payment one year ago Monday, according to PoliticalMoneyLine.com.
The “Chris Jennings” committee paid about $58,000 to its employees during the 2004 election cycle and has since been all but inactive, with the exception of a transfer to the other committee last year and the payroll tax payment this year.
Jennings also personally made two contributions to the committee in the days surrounding the payroll tax payment, totaling $16,836.
Jennings announced her 2008 candidacy for the seat on July 19, even as the House continues its review of her contest of the 2006 result. A special task force will hold a hearing this week to review the progress of the Government Accountability Office’s investigation of Jennings’s contest.
Jennings lost to Buchanan by fewer than 400 votes but has alleged voting-machine malfunctions.
Regardless of the outcome of her contest, Jennings and Buchanan figure to be headed for another heated race next year.
The race was the most expensive House matchup in the country last year, with the two candidates spending more than $11 million for the right to replace former Rep. Katherine Harris (R).
Schneider has hinted that she might run again this cycle. She beat Jennings in the primary in 2004 before the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) stepped in and supported Jennings last year.
The district leans Republican and voted 56-43 for President Bush in 2004.
The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) seized on the late payments.
“If Christine Jennings can’t be trusted on the campaign trail, how could she be trusted to represent the people of Florida’s 13th congressional district?” NRCC spokeswoman Julie Shutley said. “Jennings is a flawed candidate, and should seriously reconsider running another campaign in 2008.”
The DCCC compared Buchanan’s tax history to Jennings’s. Buchanan appealed successfully over a number of years to keep from paying millions in additional taxes that the IRS said he owed.
“While the Jennings campaign resolved its payroll mistake as soon as it was discovered, Vern Buchanan deliberately evaded a $7 million dollar tax bill for nearly a decade,” DCCC spokeswoman Kyra Jennings said.
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