Oh Harold, Where Are Those Tax Returns?

Those NY STATE Tax Returns.

Gawker broke this yesterday:

Harold Ford's Tennessee Tax Dodge

When it comes to his shadow run for Senate, Harold Ford is a New Yorker through and through. When it comes to paying taxes, though, he's still a Tennessean — he's never filed a New York return.

Ford claims to have moved to New York three years ago, and says paying "New York taxes" makes him a New Yorker. But his spokeswoman confirms to Gawker that he's never filed a New York tax return — meaning that he's never paid New York's income tax, despite keeping an office and a residence in New York City as a vice chairman of Merrill Lynch since 2007: "He pays New York taxes and will file a New York tax return in April for the first time," Ford's spokeswoman Tammy Sun told Gawker. "He will file all necessary personal disclosure and tax forms that candidates are required to file if he chooses to run." (According to Sun, Ford admitted to the tax dodge yesterday at a press availability in Albany, but we can't find any news accounts mentioning the remarks.)

Ford presumably decided that his real home was Tennessee, which conveniently has no income tax. Which means that, despite the fact that New York law requires part-time and nonresidents to pay income tax on money they earn in the state, Ford has shielded his entire Merrill Lynch salary from New York's tax collectors for the past three years. In fact, it seems like Tennessee's lack of an income tax may be the best explanation for Ford's rather complicated two-state life since 2007 — he clearly wanted to live in New York, and married a woman in 2008 who did live in New York. But he made sure to keep a foot in a state whose tax code is friendly to rich guys like himself.

But, guess what?

They can't keep their story straight.

Gawker last night.

Harold Ford's Flack Desperately Backpedals

We reported this morning that Harold Ford had never filed a New York tax return because that's precisely what his spokeswoman Tammy Sun told us. Now she's trying to backpedal, and, we hear, lying to other reporters about our story.

Earlier today, we reported that Harold Ford has never filed a New York state tax return because Sun told us he "will file a New York tax return in April for the first time." Now Sun has issued a new statement and three added words: he "will file a NY tax return in April for the first time as a resident." Sun seems to believe undercuts what she told us late last night — that her client Harold Ford had never filed a New York tax return. It doesn't. But first a little backstory:

We first inquired as to whether or not Ford had ever filed a tax return to New York tax return on Tuesday. Here's our initial email to Davidson Goldin, Ford's primary flack, who was on his honeymoon at the time. As you can see from the email, we also called and left a message with Tammy Sun of Let It Shine, Inc., who was holding down the Ford fort while Goldin was away.

Click on the link above to see the exchange of emails.

BWA HA HA HA HA HA HA

Oh Harold.

You see, running for office means certain things. It means that your tax returns are open season. It means that you have to pony them up for public viewing. This isn't something that you can fudge. Your tax returns are your tax returns. AND, if you've been working in NEW YORK, earning money in NEW YORK and NOT paying taxes in New York on said income - you are a tax cheat, unless someone has another legal term for it.

Of course, there's another income question that you have yet to answer:

It's a simple question:

Harold, did you or did you not, receive a GOVERNMENT FUNDED BONUS while at Merrill Lynch?

simple question – yes or no.


Answer the question, Harold. And pony up those tax returns.

BWA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA