Is Sarah Palin A Tax Evader ?

If you're a regular reader of this blog, then you know that I don't have a very high opinion of former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin. I think she is selfish, greedy and really not too bright. But I did think she would recognize that's she's made herself a very public figure and take care of the obvious things -- like making sure her taxes were paid.

It now looks like I was wrong about that. Evidently Palin has not been paying some property taxes she owes on property she and Todd own with a friend (Scott Richter) at Safari Lake in Alaska. The three own about 25 acres on that lake which is located in a fairly remote area.

Every few years, the tax assessors will do an aerial survey of the area. In the time between the surveys, property owners are expected to notify the assessor of any changes that might affect the value of the property. It seems that the Palins and their buddy Richter have neglected to do that.

At the time of the last aerial survey, the property had no improvements and was assessed at a value of $30,000. They have been paying $156.13 in taxes on that assessment. But since the last survey of the property, two cabins have magically appeared on the property and the tax assessor was not notified of this. That means no property taxes were paid on these cabins.

Now you may think these are some rather rudimentary hunting cabins that really aren't worth much. But if you think that, you'd be very wrong (see above picture). The "cabins" are actually large houses on lake-front property with all the amenities (including hot tubs), and there is also a shop on the property for snowmachines and four-wheelers. A similar house in the same area has been assessed at $229,000.

Palin's attorney says it is the responsibility of the tax assessor's office to figure out the property had been improved. He's wrong. There is a state law in Alaska that makes the property owners responsible for correcting any errors on their tax bill.

Palin knows the structures are there because she told Bill O'Reilly that it was her favorite vacation spot. Since she knew the improvements were made to the property, it was her responsibility to notify the tax assessor that her tax bill was not correct, and not correct by a substantial amount. With the two huge houses, the property is now probably worth 10 to 15 times as much.

I don't know why millionaires like Sarah and Todd Palin would try to evade paying their appropriate property taxes, but that looks like exactly what they did.

Making the matter even worse is the fact that this makes Sarah a huge hypocrite. In 2004, Palin refused to do a TV-ad for Republican Rep. Vic Kohring because he had $2,277 in unpaid property taxes. I guess the rules are different when it's her own property.

The more I learn about Sarah Palin, the sleazier she seems.