Amendment could force candidates to pay taxes - WALB.com, Albany News, Weather, Sports

Amendment could force candidates to pay taxes

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October 23, 2002

Albany -- Should a candidate have to pay his own taxes before he is eligible to run for public office? Voters will decide the issue November 5th.

If approved, Constitutional Amendment number one on the ballot would make candidates who default on federal, state, or local taxes ineligible to hold any public office.

 State Representative Doug Everett of Albany wrote House Resolution 126, giving voters the chance to decide a candidate's qualification.

Representative Doug Everett said "I think it's needed because I don't believe anyone should sit on a taxing authority, telling people what to do with their taxes, telling them how they are going to raise their taxes, how to spend their taxes, and then won't pay their own tax. I believe it's the ethics more than anything."

Several politicians have held office while defaulting on tax bills, including Albany Representative Lawrence Roberts and City Commissioner Arthur Williams. But this amendment, if approved, would not disqualify anyone from an office they currently hold.

posted at 4:34 by jimw@walb.com