Posted on 09/22/2003 2:45:47 PM PDT by Semper911
Dean shows 'tightwad' tendencies
September 20, 2003
By CLAUDE R.MARX
Vermont Press Bureau
MONTPELIER - Former Gov. Howard Dean could find out Monday night if he owes &76.01 in interest on a property tax payment he says he made on time.
The 14-member Burlington Board of Tax Abatement is scheduled to hear the case, which centers on what Dean says is a lost check for $6,080.20 and city officials claim is a late payment.
City officials said they did not receive any payment on Aug. 12, when the first quarterly payment was due, They said they wrote Dean a letter on Aug. 21 telling him he owed taxes plus a $76.01 interest payment.
Dean contends he wrote a check for the full amount on July 16, and noticed on Aug. 20 that the check never cleared his bank account. He explained the situation in a letter on Aug. 20 and gave the city another check that day and requested he not be penalized because of the city's mistake.
He said in the note, which he wrote by hand, he was paying the full amount he owes at once "because my campaign has me so busy I do not want to miss a payment."
A subcommittee of the board deadlocked 1-1, with one member missing, earlier this month when it discussed whether Dean must pay a penalty.
Dean, who is seeking the Democratic nomination for president, has no public events on Monday but is not scheduled to appear at Monday's hearing. His Aug. 20 letter "speaks for itself," according to deputy campaign manager Robert Rogan.
"The governor is exercising his right, as a citizen of Burlington, to appeal the $76.01 in interest and penalties and will abide by the decision of the board. This will come as no surprise to Vermonters, who are well aware that Howard Dean is a tightwad," Rogan said in a statement.
Kathy Dunn, a supervisor in the Burlington clerk treasurer's office, said two or four taxpayers per quarter say that their tax payment check was not cashed. She declined to comment on Dean's case except to say that the board will decide on Monday night whether her office or Dean is correct.
Dean has made tax fairness a centerpiece of his presidential campaign and criticized the Bush administration for supporting policies that allow affluent citizens to not pay their fair share of taxes.
Cheap lying bastard. You will never be President if this fine land.
The rules for why a penalty or tax can be abated are pretty clear and unless he can prove he mailed his check in time to meet the deadline, he'll be stuck with the penalty.
To think he would rather fight this (and let it end up in that papers) than to pay the 70-something bucks.
Dolt.
He would definitely not be cheap about spending the tax money that others paid. "Cheap lying hypocrite" would work just fine.
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