Kerry Says $819,848 Tax Lien Is Clerical Error

From the AssociatedPress.com:

The Internal Revenue Service has filed a $819,848 tax lien against Sen. John Kerry's 2004 presidential campaign, but Kerry on Wednesday blamed IRS clerical error for the claim and said his campaign owes no tax penalties.

The Massachusetts Democrat said the IRS mishandled payroll tax forms that he said were correctly filed by his campaign in 2005.

"This is a clerical matter, nothing more, nothing less," said Kerry spokeswoman Whitney Smith.

IRS spokesman Anthony Burke declined comment Wednesday, adding that IRS employees are precluded by law from commenting on tax cases.

The IRS notified the Kerry campaign in January 2008 that it had failed to file certain payroll tax forms for the 2004 tax year.

Smith said the IRS must have lost the payroll forms since the Kerry campaign had previously filed them in 2005. But the Kerry campaign filed them again in 2008 in response to the IRS request, she said.

"The IRS contacted us last year about data they lost from the 2004 campaign," Smith said. "We gladly resubmitted all the forms needed to fill in the gaps, end of story."

Smith said the Kerry camp was surprised to learn the IRS had filed a tax lien based on the disputed W-2 payroll forms.

The IRS filed the lien earlier this year in the District of Columbia, saying it had tried to collect the money previously from the Kerry campaign.

"We have made a demand for payment of this liability, but it remains unpaid," according to the IRS tax lien.

Smith said the Kerry camp has been willing to provide the IRS additional documentation to resolve the matter. Kerry officials have been checking monthly with the IRS asking why the matter has yet to be resolved, but have not gotten an answer, she said.

The Washington Times first reported the tax lien against Kerry's campaign on Wednesday.

Kerry lost to former President George W. Bush in the 2004 race. Paperwork was filed last year with the Federal Election Commission closing down Kerry's 2004 campaign account.

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McCain Questions Obama's Tax Votes

From CNN.com:

Sen. John McCain told voters Monday that Sen. Barack Obama isn't being honest about his tax votes and said the Democrat is "always cheering for higher taxes."

In response, the Obama campaign called McCain's remarks "false attacks" and an "angry diatribe."

The economy is the No. 1 issue on the minds of voters, polls show, and both candidates are trying to convince voters that they will do a better job of getting the financial crisis under control.

"Two times, on March 14, 2008, and June 4, 2008, in the Democratic budget resolution, he voted to raise taxes on people making just $42,000 per year. He even said at the time that this vote for higher taxes on the middle class was 'getting our nation's priorities back on track,' " McCain said at a rally in Columbus, Ohio.

"Then something amazing happened: On Friday night, he looked the American people in the eye and said it never happened. My friends, we need a president who will always tell the American people the truth," McCain said.

McCain said a vote for Obama would "guarantee higher taxes, fewer jobs and an even bigger federal government" and charged that "these policies will deepen our recession."

Shortly after McCain finished his speech, the Obama campaign accused the Arizona senator of lying.

"Sen. McCain's angry diatribe today won't make up for his erratic response to the greatest financial crisis of our time. John McCain knows that the budget he's talking about didn't end up raising taxes on a single American, and the lie he told the American people today is all the more outrageous a day after he admitted that his health care plan will increase taxes on some families," Obama campaign spokesman Tommy Vietor said.

In McCain's speech, the Republican presidential candidate was referring to votes on a resolution (Senate Concurrent Resolution 70) meant to outline the Senate's budget priorities through 2013, but the measure had no practical effect.

According to a CNN review of the resolution, it assumes that most of the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts pushed by President Bush will expire in that time, which McCain says amounts to a tax increase. Obama and his running mate, Sen. Joe Biden, voted "yes" on the resolution. McCain did not vote.