Tuesday is tax day. I tell you this not to raise your blood pressure, but to remind you. If you’re like me, you wait till the last minute because you have to cut a check to Uncle Sam. Since withholdings used to force me to give the government an interest-free loan before I started doing contracting work, I figured making them wait till the very last day was the least I could do to protest for the hand in my wallet they used to have for me.
But I will cut that check again this year, as I do every year. We can’t all work for MSNBC.
That’s right, working for MSNBC is apparently the new child deduction on your tax forms. So many personalities associated with the liberal network in the past few years have managed to fend off the IRS in ways that would put mere mortals in jeopardy of having their assets seized and even possibly in prison.
It having been the Obama years, and MSNBC being the lead defender of the former president and all his failures might have helped keep these tax scofflaws above the law. Hopefully the Trump administration will take the idea of skirting tax liabilities a little more seriously.
Still, as millions of Americans prepare to fill out pages of government forms under penalty of perjury, let’s take a moment to remember those who had the courage to tell the big government they advocate for to wait.
Joy Reid. The one time daily host now relegated to weekend mornings had a tax lien against her and her husband for just shy of $5,000 as recently as 2015. Seems weird for someone with a TV show not to pay off a $5,000 bill, but those of us who don’t make TV money will never know.
Also in 2015, Politico reported then current, now former, MSNBC host Melissa Harris-Perry and her husband had a lien against them for around $70,000 in back taxes. She says she’s since paid it off, presumably after discovering she couldn’t write off tampon earrings.
Other MSNBC personalities who’ve had tax issues include Craig Melvin, MSNBC daytime host and Today Show weekend host who once owed South Carolina more than $3,300 and, as Heat Street reported, Discover Card another $3,200.
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Charlie Brown’s illegitimate son Chris Matthews and his wife, a former local news anchor turned humiliated congressional candidate who now serves as interim Democratic Party Chair in Maryland, once had a lien against them by Maryland for almost $4,000.
NBC News White House correspondent, who makes frequent appearances on their cable arm, once owed California $6,700 in back taxes. She paid it off last year.
Of course these fellow MSNBCers combined are pikers compared to the granddaddy of tax cheats, Al Sharpton. I should probably call him “Reverend Al Sharpton” because he is, after all, a man of God. Though it would seem the good reverend didn’t understand the part of the Bible about rendering unto Caesar that which is Caesar’s. Or perhaps he just thinks of himself as Caesar since he had such unfettered access to the White House under President Obama, like all tax cheats do.
Sharpton has had tax liens, both state and federal, against him for millions of dollars for years. In fairness to Al, he did have to spend a lot of money getting new expensive suits after he lost a lot of weight. Still, it’s unseemly to be advocating for bigger government and higher taxes when you haven’t paid yours.
Hypocrisy is nothing new for Sharpton. Hell, he’s monetized it so effectively that he’s in a position to owe millions in unpaid taxes. That’s a skill…I guess.
Yes, Reverend Al at one point owed $4.5 million in back taxes. Adjusting for inflation, that puts Sharpton just behind Al Capone at $5.3 million (when adjusted for inflation), yet he never faced any serious threat of prison. Maybe mobsters should take a lesson from this and become ordained ministers and advocate radical leftist policies to avoid tax issues. They don’t even have to have a church!
Of course Sharpton has not completely avoided consequences. His close ties to President Obama didn’t prevent him from being collateral damage of a bill Obama signed into law revoking the passports of people who owe more than $500,000 to the IRS. It can’t be that devastating to the reverend, after all, how much money can there be in race-baiting in other countries. Still, it could be awkward when your young girlfriend wants to vacation in Europe.
So as you sit down to do your taxes, remember those who view themselves as our betters as you write that check. They’re the ones calling for you and everyone else to pay more while they take their sweet time in paying theirs. How very progressive.
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