Another Tax Case in the Media

With taxes and rebate checks still fresh on everyone’s mind, another story of unpaid taxes has gotten the attention of the national media. But this time it is not a celebrity, the defendant in question is the famous civil rights activist Reverend Al Sharpton. Records obtained by The Associated Press show that Sharpton and his businesses owe about $1.5 million in unpaid taxes and fees.

According to the report, Sharpton’s lawyers have been trying to negotiate with the federal government for about a year. They are disputing the total debt amount, and have been trying to pay off some of the debt related to unpaid workers compensation and unemployment insurance. However, Sharpton is not accepting full blame for the tax liability and points to problems in the government.

"Whatever retaliation they do on me, we never stop," Sharpton told the AP. "I think that that is why they try to intimidate us. The infrastructure was trying to keep up with that pace, and it was not a perfect fit. The National Action Network may not have been perfect, but nothing was going on that was untoward."