Thread: Al Franken Admits $50,000 Tax Debt

Al Franken Admits $50,000 Tax Debt

Friday, February 6, 2009 2:39 PM

By: Ronald Kessler

Overlooked in coverage of Tim Geithner’s and Tom Daschle’s unpaid taxes is the $70,000 that Minnesota Democratic senatorial candidate Al Franken has admitted to owing in back taxes, interest, and penalties.

Last April, the California Tax Franchise Board revealed that Franken owed the state $5,800 in taxes, fines, and penalties because he did not file returns in 2003 through 2007. Franken then admitted that he owed more than $50,000 in back taxes to 17 states.

Franken blamed everything on his accountant of 18 years, saying he failed to report the income from the comedian’s celebrity appearances and speeches in those states where he made money outside of Minnesota and New York, where he lives. Franken claimed he overpaid taxes in those two states and will file for refunds.

But the accountant, Allen Chanzis, has not verified Franken’s account. In fact, he has said he was told not to talk to the press. Nor has Franken released any documentation to show that he overpaid taxes in two states.

“I’ve been told to say ‘no comment,’â€

Al Franken Wants Minn. High Court to Order Him Certified

Friday, February 6, 2009 4:15 PM

By: Dave Eberhart

The Al Franken campaign is asking the Minnesota Supreme Court to direct the Governor and the Secretary of State to issue an election certificate in Minnesota’s unresolved U.S. Senate race - since a recount showed Al Franken had more votes than Norm Coleman, according to a report in the Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune.

An advocate for Franken, Attorney Marc Elias, argued to the three-judge panel that Gov. Tim Pawlenty and Secretary of State Mark Ritchie were overriding federal authority by refusing to certify Franken as the winner in the interim period as Republican Coleman continues to fight his legal battle to defeat his Democratic opponent’s 225-vote lead.

Elias argued that the state of Minnesota will have failed a constitutional mandate to provide two senators if it does not act immediately rather than waiting for all the legal smoke to clear.

“The state has the obligation to participate in the federal scheme ... and not opt itself out,â€

Al Franken...another Democratic tax cheat.