The Daily Caller, Washington Times, and Washington Free Beacon are reporting that Congressman Nick Rahall, (D-3rd) is facing accusations of either tax or residency fraud.
The issue centers around a homestead exemption Rahall received from Washington D.C. for his townhouse there. The deduction totaled $576.
In West Virginia, according to the Washington Times, Rahall also claimed a tax break for "reduced owner-occupied" status.
The two deductions combined show that Rahall may consider his primary residence to be Washington D.C., which would violate the law.
Rahall's personal net worth is in excess of $2 million, which would indicate that it was probably an oversight or misunderstanding.
Melanie Sloan, of the left-leaning group CREW, or Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, said:
“Rep. Rahall should pay back the money to the District of Columbia or
drop out of his race for re-election in West Virginia,” Sloan told the Washington Times.
“If the District of Columbia is his primary residence, I don’t know how
he meets the residency requirements to serve as a representative from
West Virginia.”
Rahall currently is considered a likely candidate for re-election in the West Virginia 3rd. The fact that his district was polled, however, indicates that he is less of a lock than either David McKinley in the 1st or Shelley Moore Capito in the 2nd.
Accusations of financial irregularities contributed to the defeat of Alan Mollohan in 2010, but the details came to light much earlier in the election season and involved a lot more money.
http://tinyurl.com/cj4g4xu
http://freebeacon.com/rahalls-follies/
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