Do Your Elected Officials Pay Their Taxes?

Most of us pay our taxes when they are due. Some do not. Most of us expect that those we elect to offices and who supposedly represent us must be especially punctual. Surprise!! Some, perhaps many, are amongst those whose names may be found on federal, state, and local tax delinquency roles. One might be a bit befuddled about how elected officials can be elected and reelected even when the owe back taxes. You would probably be very befuddled if the tax delinquencies were persistent and spanned many tax years. Some of you living in Door County, Wisconsin may be most interested in this blog. However don't assume that you are immune to similar tax delinquencies committed by elected officials located elsewhere and everywhere. Find out for yourselves if the tax delinquency records are public as they are in Wisconsin.

The Green Bay Press Gazette in Wisconsin had the courage to run a story by reporter Ramelle Bintz that revealed tax delinquencies on the part of three local elected office holders. The article is linked above. Read it to learn about the public tax delinquencies of three prominent elected officials in Door County: Merrell Runquist (Town of Gibraltar Chairman and Member of Door County Board of Supervisors), John Cox (Village Chairman, Village of Ephraim), and Gardner Supervisor Mark Stevenson. Their individual tax arrears vary from relatively small amounts to substantial with Merrell Runquist tops at just under a total of $90,000 due. Mr Runquist has consistently been reelected for Gibraltar Town Chairman and County Supervisor for many years. Perhaps the voters were unaware of their difficulties with tax collectors. They are no longer uninformed thanks to the Bintz report and the Wisconsin Tax Delinquency list Wisconsin Delinquent Tax Payers list.

Wisconsin law effective since 2006 and amended in 2007 and 2008 requires that certain tax delinquencies be posted on the internet. The article written by Rammel Bintz used information from this source. He has opened a door for Wisconsin voters to check out elected officials and those running for offices before we vote. Perhaps, the next time around we will all do this and vote accordingly.