Al Sharpton Owes Back Taxes. So Do Ten Million Other People.

I was recently informed of the big news that civil rights activist and cable TV commentator Al Sharpton has a bunch of unpaid taxes and the I.R.S. is finally going to come down hard on him.  Although I hadn't heard that before, it's certainly some serious shit.

I kinda like the the Reverend Al, and I'll get back to him in just a bit.  First, a few other thoughts.

In its last report on the topic, the I.R.S. said that the U.S. government is owed some $450 billion in back taxes from individuals and businesses.

Federal employees as a group owe $3.3 billion in unpaid taxes.

Washington politicians Rep. Jim Renacci (R-OH) and Rep. Michael Grimm (R-NY, and resigned in disgrace) owe hefty amounts of back taxes.  Even budget bitch Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) once paid a small fine for under-reporting his income to the I.R.S.

Celebrities Nicholas Cage, Lionel Ritchie, Lindsay Lohan, Pamela Anderson and Ozzy Osborne have big unpaid tax bills.

General Electric, Verizon, A.E.P., and NiSource/Columbia Gas pay $0 federal income tax.  Other biggies who pay little or nothing include Bank of America, Exxon Mobil, CitiGroup and FedEx.  These are corporations with hundreds of billions in profits, legally dodging taxes via foreign "off-shore" arrangements and tax subsidies/tax credits.

In 1952, 33% of all federal tax revenue was from corporate income tax.  Today, it's just 9%.

OK, back to Al Sharpton, who reportedly owes about $4.7 million in back taxes, most of it to the feds, the rest to state and local authorities.   Much of this is secured by tax liens.  Around three-quarters of it is personal liability, with the remainder owed by his companies, the National Action Network and RevAl Communications.

With penalties and interest and payments, the precise amount is hard to know.  Sharpton says the figure is inflated, but he acknowledges he has old tax debt.  He said the lien amounts are being paid down, and he said he's current on his payments under settlement agreements.

So I think I know why I missed the news flash about this.  There wasn't one.  This has been Sharpton's situation for years, since 2008.  There is no "news" here unless you're Fox News or the Drudge Report.

Not to diminish his tax delinquency -- it's not a small amount and it's not an admirable thing -- but Sharpton has plenty of company in this regard.  Why are Reverend Al's tax troubles such a target for the conservative right?  Why do they call for him to be fired, imprisoned, or worse?  Could it be because he's just a trouble-making, uppity n****r who makes them uncomfortable by pointing out racism and unfairness?  (The white right hates that stuff.)  Yeah, I think that could be it.

Why can't the right get at least as worked up over billions of dollars in corporate tax subsidies and giveaways as they are over this one man?