Joe the Plumber Owes Back Taxes - Democratic Underground

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Thu Oct-16-08 01:11 PM
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Joe the Plumber Owes Back Taxes

Source: Bloomberg

`Joe the Plumber,' Who Dislikes Obama Tax Plan, Owes Back Taxes
2008-10-16 17:57:13.250 GMT

By Ryan J. Donmoyer
Oct. 16 (Bloomberg) -- ``Joe the plumber,'' the Toledo,
Ohio, man whose complaints about Barack Obama's tax plan were
featured in the final presidential debate, owes the state of Ohio
almost $1,200 in back income taxes.
According to records on file with the Lucas County Court of
Common Pleas, the state filed a tax lien against Samuel J.
Wurzelbacher for $1,182.98 on Jan. 26, 2007, that is still
active.
Wurzelbacher was thrust into the national spotlight this
week when he told Obama he worried that the Illinois senator's
proposals to roll back Bush administration tax breaks for
Americans earning more than $250,000 would prevent him from
buying a plumbing business that would earn between $250,000 and
$280,000 a year.
Republican John McCain, the Arizona senator, pointed to the
exchange during the debate last night when he turned to the
camera and said, ``I will not stand for a tax increase on small-
business income.'' Directly criticizing Obama, he added, ``what
you want to do to `Joe the plumber' and millions more like him is
have their taxes increased and not be able to realize the
American dream of owning their own business.''
Today, at a rally in Downingtown, Pennsylvania, McCain said
that ``the real winner last night was `Joe the plumber.'''
Wurzelbacher's home telephone number is unlisted, and
efforts to reach him by calling his neighbors and family were
unsuccessful. Attempts to reach Wurzelbacher at the plumbing
company where he works were also unsuccessful. The address on the
lien and other records for him matched the address published by
the Toledo Blade, which also noted the lien.

A Lien

The state of Ohio places a lien on real property after
several steps to try to collect a tax debt, according to John
Kohlstrand, a spokesman for the Ohio Department of Taxation who
said he couldn't discuss any specific case.
If a delinquency notice goes unheeded, the Department of
Taxation issues a billing notice, Kohlstrand said. If that is
ignored, a more formal assessment notice is sent. Failing to
appeal an assessment or losing an appeal puts the debt into the
hands of the state attorney general for collection. The attorney
general typically sends a collection notice and simultaneously
files a lien.
``The taxpayers may not necessarily know about the lien,''
Kohlstrand said, although they would receive other notices.
In Wurzelbacher's case, the lien indicated that the notice
was sent to a previous address in Toledo.
Under Obama's proposal, Wurzelbacher would face about $900
more in taxes if he netted $280,000 of income from his new
business, said Gerald Prante, a senior economist at the Tax
Foundation, a Washington research group that is examining both
candidates' plans. ``His average tax burden, the final bill he
pays to the IRS isn't going to go up much if he's just making
$280,000 a year,'' Prante said. He would face higher marginal tax
costs to expand the business beyond that, he said.

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