TPM: Harold Ford's Own Personal Tax Cut
DailyKos: NY-Sen: Either a Non-NYer or a Tax Dodger?
The Albany Project: Harold Ford, Tax Cheat?
FireDogLake: Harold Ford Has Lived In NY Three Years Without Paying State Taxes
Gothamist: Things Harold Ford Forgot To Do Before Leaving Tennessee
The mainstream media, however, seems to be satisfied by Ford's latest declarations that he is paying his quarterly estimates and that if he becomes a candidate, he'll comply with all FEC requirements. But what about 07 & 08 and if he didn't file resident returns for those years, what sorts of returns did he file and if he didn't file them, did he break the law?
Well, Ford is on Meet The Press tomorrow, as a pundit not as a subject, but Gregory will have the opportunity to press this. Will he?
State and City Law Requires All Individuals to File Partial Returns and Pay Income Taxes On All Income From NY Sources
Ford Certainly Earned Income in New York in 2007 & 2008, But Admits to Never Filing A Tax Return in New York
Merrill Lynch Vice Chairman Harold Ford Jr. says he’s a New Yorker.
For 2007 and 2008, Harold Ford Jr. served as a Wall Street executive, based in New York, and a commentator for MSNBC, also based in New York.
“I spent the majority of my time on Wall Street, working as vice chairman at Merrill Lynch." [Charlie Rose interview, 2/4/08]
But new evidence has emerged that raises the simple question: Did Harold Ford Jr. fail to properly pay New York state and city taxes on income he earned in New York in 2007 and 2008?
New York State law and New York City law requires individuals to pay taxes and file a partial tax return on all income earned in New York.
According to the NYS Department of Taxation and Finance, “If you are not a resident of New York State, you are subject to New York State tax on any income you receive from New York State sources.” The law requires you to file a IT-203: Nonresident and Part-Year Resident Income Tax Return.
According to the City of New York Department of Finance, part-year residents in New York City figure their New York City income tax based on income and deductions based only on the days lived in NYC.
However, according to the NY Daily News, Harold Ford Jr. told YNN, a Buffalo affiliate of NY1, "I will file a return for the first time, [for] last year, come April, when taxes are to be filed."
One of Ford’s campaign flacks, Tammy Sun, echoed her boss, explaining that Ford "will file a New York tax return in April for the first time." She later explained that he will file for the first time “as a resident,” but still avoided whether he has ever filed a partial return for non-residents as required by law.
With Ford’s new admission that he never filed a return in New York, it raises questions whether he may have violated state and city law requiring an individual to file a partial return on any amount of income that was earned in New York.
Certainly his work for NBC and some of his work for Merrill Lynch would qualify. However, he will not answer the simple question: Did you ever file a partial return for 2007 and 2008 to pay New York taxes on the income that was earned in New York City and State?
