Rev. Al Sharpton’s Campaign Finance Audit Results in $500,000 Tax Bill
Rev. Al Sharpton is facing financial woes again, as the FEC has determined that his 2004 campaign owes $486,803 to the U.S. Treasury for illegal donations and other financial improprieties.
According to reports, while Sharpton was campaigning for president, he collected “love offerings” from churches, a practice common for traveling preachers. His campaign finances also came under scrutiny as he paid for much of it with his personal American Express card, and then split the costs with the National Action Network and a company called Rev-Als Production Inc.
“Virtually no effort appears to have been made by Sharpton 2004, the candidate, NAN, or Rev-Als. Production Inc. to keep any sort of detailed records demonstrating what payments paid for which travel,” the report found, noting what it called the campaign’s “nearly complete failure to produce any information on this subject in the course of the audit.”
The Associated Press also reported that:
- Sharpton will appeal the finding, aides said Friday, which would extend an already years-long fight with the government over how he raised and spent money to run for president
- Sharpton has been feuding with the Federal Election Commission for years over his accounting in his failed run for president, for which he received $100,000 in so-called government matching funds that authorities later concluded he did not deserve because he hadn’t followed campaign laws.
- Last summer, federal prosecutors decided not to seek criminal charges against him over unpaid taxes after a lengthy grand jury investigation.The IRS obtained a $931,397 lien against Sharpton. City and state officials said he owned them another $933,577. Separately, the National Action Network said in its most recent tax filing that it owed at least $1.9 million in payroll taxes and related interest.
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Tags: Al Sharpton, audit, Campaign finance, federal election commission
