Oklahoman: Cargill Late Paying Law Firm Taxes
House Speaker Lance Cargill has been delinquent in paying property taxes on his Harrah law office six years in a row, The Oklahoman reports.
The Sunday edition story by reporters Nolan Clay and Randy Ellis has Cargill apologizing: "I take full responsibility for this error. I certainly apologize to the people of Oklahoma and to my colleagues, and will take steps to ensure these matters are handled in a timely and efficient manner in the future," he said.
Cargill has faced other tax problems recently; The Oklahoman reported the speaker failed to file his 2005 and 2006 personal income tax returns until he received a warning letter from the Tax Commission.
Of Cargill's failure to file property taxes, County Treasurer Butch Freeman, like Cargill a Republican, said, "He's one of my favorite taxpayers because we make a lot of money on him in interest and penalty."
The taxes on Cargill's Harrah law firm are not large, about $750 per year. The paper reports he or his company have paid $562.44 in penalities, interest and fees by paying late.
The paper also reports, "Cargill sent in a $1,623.93 check, dated Jan. 10, to pay his overdue 2007 and 2006 property taxes on his law office, records show. The 2006 tax was more than a year overdue. The 2007 tax, at that point, was just days overdue."
Freeman said Cargill took care of previous taxes in most years after getting "delinquent tax notices." The Tulsa World's Mick Hinton reported the story on Sunday, with a sidebar detailing controversies involving Cargill: Three other controversies involving House Speaker Lance Cargill have emerged in the the past year. They deal with: A fundraiser he attended in December. Meetings with lobbyists outside the state Capitol last spring. An alleged investigation of House Republican PAC activities being conducted by the Oklahoma Ethics Commission. A report surfaced earlier this month that Cargill and six other Republican lawmakers attended a Texas fundraiser for presidential candidate Mike Huckabee held at the home of controversial Texas businessman Gene Phillips. At first, Cargill said he didn’t know where the fundraiser was being held but subsequently learned it was at the Dallas home of Phillips. Former state insurance commissioner Carroll Fisher, a Democrat now in prison, allegedly accepted a $25,000 gift from Phillips and also furniture for Fisher’s office. Last legislative session, Cargill sponsored an ethics bill to outlaw campaign money from being given to lawmakers inside the state Capitol.At the same time Cargill was proposing reforms, he was calling lobbyists at 15- minute intervals to the Oklahoma City office of Fount Holland, who conducts numerous Republican political campaigns. Cargill was asking lobbyists how much they would contribute to the House PAC, his own campaign and two other GOP-related entities. The speaker said at the time that the meetings involved “potential contributors who we meet with all the time to try and raise financial support for our political efforts.” Meanwhile, questionable activity of the House Republican PAC in the 2004 and 2006 election cycles apparently has sparked the attention of the state Ethics Commission, although it cannot confirm whether an investigation is occurring. Republican Party chairman Gary Jones, former state Rep. Ray Vaughn and state Rep. John Trebilcock, R-Tulsa, have confirmed that late last year they visited the office of the Ethics Commission. Earlier, Vaughn and some other lawmakers said they were displeased to learn that their $5,000 campaign contributions designated for the state party — sometimes called a Victory Fund — had ended up with the Oklahoma County Republican Party. Cargill said at the time, “I did not solicit, receive, deposit or expend any Victory Fund checks.” But in 2004, leaders of the PAC headed by Cargill allegedly found a way to capture that money by turning over bills to the Oklahoma County party, which paid them, documents indicate. Documents obtained by the Tulsa World indicated that the county party was paying some of the expenses of the House Republican PAC, which hired field representatives to work on key legislative races.
The Sunday edition story by reporters Nolan Clay and Randy Ellis has Cargill apologizing: "I take full responsibility for this error. I certainly apologize to the people of Oklahoma and to my colleagues, and will take steps to ensure these matters are handled in a timely and efficient manner in the future," he said.
Cargill has faced other tax problems recently; The Oklahoman reported the speaker failed to file his 2005 and 2006 personal income tax returns until he received a warning letter from the Tax Commission.
Of Cargill's failure to file property taxes, County Treasurer Butch Freeman, like Cargill a Republican, said, "He's one of my favorite taxpayers because we make a lot of money on him in interest and penalty."
The taxes on Cargill's Harrah law firm are not large, about $750 per year. The paper reports he or his company have paid $562.44 in penalities, interest and fees by paying late.
The paper also reports, "Cargill sent in a $1,623.93 check, dated Jan. 10, to pay his overdue 2007 and 2006 property taxes on his law office, records show. The 2006 tax was more than a year overdue. The 2007 tax, at that point, was just days overdue."
Freeman said Cargill took care of previous taxes in most years after getting "delinquent tax notices." The Tulsa World's Mick Hinton reported the story on Sunday, with a sidebar detailing controversies involving Cargill: Three other controversies involving House Speaker Lance Cargill have emerged in the the past year. They deal with: A fundraiser he attended in December. Meetings with lobbyists outside the state Capitol last spring. An alleged investigation of House Republican PAC activities being conducted by the Oklahoma Ethics Commission. A report surfaced earlier this month that Cargill and six other Republican lawmakers attended a Texas fundraiser for presidential candidate Mike Huckabee held at the home of controversial Texas businessman Gene Phillips. At first, Cargill said he didn’t know where the fundraiser was being held but subsequently learned it was at the Dallas home of Phillips. Former state insurance commissioner Carroll Fisher, a Democrat now in prison, allegedly accepted a $25,000 gift from Phillips and also furniture for Fisher’s office. Last legislative session, Cargill sponsored an ethics bill to outlaw campaign money from being given to lawmakers inside the state Capitol.At the same time Cargill was proposing reforms, he was calling lobbyists at 15- minute intervals to the Oklahoma City office of Fount Holland, who conducts numerous Republican political campaigns. Cargill was asking lobbyists how much they would contribute to the House PAC, his own campaign and two other GOP-related entities. The speaker said at the time that the meetings involved “potential contributors who we meet with all the time to try and raise financial support for our political efforts.” Meanwhile, questionable activity of the House Republican PAC in the 2004 and 2006 election cycles apparently has sparked the attention of the state Ethics Commission, although it cannot confirm whether an investigation is occurring. Republican Party chairman Gary Jones, former state Rep. Ray Vaughn and state Rep. John Trebilcock, R-Tulsa, have confirmed that late last year they visited the office of the Ethics Commission. Earlier, Vaughn and some other lawmakers said they were displeased to learn that their $5,000 campaign contributions designated for the state party — sometimes called a Victory Fund — had ended up with the Oklahoma County Republican Party. Cargill said at the time, “I did not solicit, receive, deposit or expend any Victory Fund checks.” But in 2004, leaders of the PAC headed by Cargill allegedly found a way to capture that money by turning over bills to the Oklahoma County party, which paid them, documents indicate. Documents obtained by the Tulsa World indicated that the county party was paying some of the expenses of the House Republican PAC, which hired field representatives to work on key legislative races.
Labels: Butch Freeman, Lance Cargill, Unpaid Taxes
posted by Mike McCarville @ 8:31 AM
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