A state lawmaker hasn’t paid taxes for eight years
Ben Smith over at Atlanta Unfiltered has this:
State Rep. Roberta Abdul-Salaam has racked up $22,381 in liens for unpaid federal and state income taxes for eight consecutive years, court records show.
The Georgia Department of Revenue executed the most recent lien, $651 for unpaid 2008 state taxes, on Jan. 25, shortly after it notified legislative leaders that a House member failed to file a 2008 tax return. That member has not been identified publicly, and Abdul-Salaam said she hasn’t been told that it’s her.
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47 comments Add your comment
Ole Guy
March 10th, 2010
5:50 pm
Just spitballin…don’t regular people get tossed in jail and outta their jobs for stuff like this?
oldfart
March 10th, 2010
5:59 pm
lawmaker ≠ lawbreaker
The evidence is already out there with the liens. Boot her tomorrow.
tc
March 10th, 2010
6:20 pm
toss her
Bo Doodley
March 10th, 2010
6:27 pm
Where’s the (R) or (D) next to the name? Ohhhhh….now I get it…..
Buzz
March 10th, 2010
6:28 pm
To use the Bill Clinton argument, if the politician is doing a good job, why do we care about their personal life!?
Dixie3
March 10th, 2010
6:34 pm
There are three thing I knew from this article. She was a Democrat, she was black, and she is a liberal. All feel they are entitle to be above the crown and I know she was Democrat when Jim did not put her party affiliation.
tim
March 10th, 2010
6:39 pm
Another Black Liberal Democrat low life.
Michael
March 10th, 2010
6:43 pm
Well, well, well, I see we have a little retinue of Bubba bigots here today. I bet you hayseeds would bust a blood vessel if all the crooked deals and deeds throughout the REPIGLICAN party were discovered and made public.
fwm
March 10th, 2010
6:55 pm
hummmm…..white politicians have been breaking the laws, not paying taxes and giving the “good contracts” to their white friends for years. Tim, I think your talking about “your momma”
bank walker
March 10th, 2010
6:55 pm
Most all politicians black, white, democrat or republican are scum of the earth. The quicker people realize this and oust these people, the better off we will be!
RGB
March 10th, 2010
7:01 pm
Yeah, he regularly omits the party affiliation when it involves wrongdoing if the person is a Democrat.
OnceUponATime
March 10th, 2010
7:06 pm
Don’t care what her color or party affiliation is, or even whether the representative in question is a he or a she. If they won’t abide by the rules they pass for the rest of us, boot them out of the General Assembly and give them double the punishment a regular taxpayer would receive.
PJ
March 10th, 2010
7:06 pm
@Dixie3 & tim
When we Black see or hear language like that do you honestly believe that we are supposed to not be offended? People like you make me sick. Who the hell said we thought we’re above the crown? I swear I do not get people like you. So damn evil and unrepentant at the same time. You two are a curse to mankind.
Linda
March 10th, 2010
7:10 pm
Of course there has been nothing in the news over the last several years about lawmakers who are Republican, WHITE, and conservatives who have done illegal, immoral, and hypocritical things. But of course their supports make excuses for them. I am a Democrat, WHITE, Master’s prepared and think Rep. Roberta Abdul-Salaam should be kicked out of the House because what she did was WRONG no matter her color, her party, or her political leanings. Too bad those supporting the other party can’t be as rational. This is why there is so much distrust between us!
Eugene Talmadge
March 10th, 2010
7:16 pm
As I said long before I died, “Sure I stole, but I stole for you.”
RGB
March 10th, 2010
7:33 pm
I believe all individuals, regardless of party affiliation, who are corrupt and dishonest–who don’t pay taxes and abuse the public trust–should not be in office but in jail. I’m a conservative.
Feel better?
There is distrust because the folks now in charge of the federal government are corrupt. They behave like the Chicago thugs they are. If you are unaware of this, mix another batch of kool-aid and have a hearty swig.
Do Republicans do corrupt things? Answer: sometimes. What should happen to them? Answer: The same thing that should happen to corrupt Democrats.
But corruption and the Democrat party go together more than with Republicans. When Republicans do corrupt things, Democrats react with glee shouting “so that’s the party of family values?” Democrats seem plagued less by this charge as most don’t possess said values.
As a matter of journalistic accuracy, the party affiliation of the legislator–whether Democrat or Republican–should have been noted.
td
March 10th, 2010
7:39 pm
Michael and Linda, Most Republicans say throw the bums out if Republican lawmakers are found to have broken rules or the law. Democrats on the other hand want to defend their own and will elect and defend them over and over again.
Dawg11
March 10th, 2010
7:39 pm
Absolutely outrageous.
SuperLifer
March 10th, 2010
7:46 pm
@RGB, I have to disagree with your statement about noting the party affiliation.
I would love it if the media didn’t list a politician’s race, sex, or party affiliation when reporting on them in matters like this. Or let’s go further and not even use their name, just ‘Politician X’.
Then, we could just decide on the actual merits of what they did or what they stand for.
Unfortunately, too many people don’t think very well on their own, so they need to know who they are attacking or defending based on republican vs.democrat, conservative vs. liberal, male vs. female, black vs. white, or whatever other classification they use to color their view of right and wrong.
LOLOL
March 10th, 2010
7:47 pm
Another liberal lowlife
Ocean of Wisdom
March 10th, 2010
7:58 pm
STRIVE to be SMARTER than the ORIGINAL controlling ‘party’ of SLAVERY WANTs you to BE!
Ted Striker
March 10th, 2010
8:00 pm
All the columnist did was lay the facts of the story out. Some of (not all) you want to make a confabulated political conclusion along confabulated political lines. (And some of you want to confabulate something about the columnist whilst doing so).
Fine. But neither I, nor the columnist, nor anyone else with intelligence and education is going to bite.
church of the painful truth
March 10th, 2010
8:05 pm
It’s not the party or the color or the conserv or liberal— It,s the person who makes this type of action in their life. She must be called out in the full house by the Speaker and make her seat vacant until all taxes are paid. Her seat should not have a vote on any laws. Let her district see how she represents them.
The Cynical White Boy
March 10th, 2010
8:09 pm
Uh oh, I can hear the footsteps of the ‘Rev’ Al Sharpton coming toward the Gold Dome now. Stay tuned for a “Freaknik” style march informing all of us dummies who pay taxes, work for a living and generally ignore politicians when we can, just how unfair and racist and insensitive it is to point out the tax status of this legislator.
German Shepherd Dawg
March 10th, 2010
8:13 pm
Michael the Racist,
So people are bigoted if they note corruption of a black woman who happens to be a liberal Democrat, and Muslim? We can only criticize white people?
Look in the mirror, Mr. Hypocrite. How do you know I’m white? I come in all black, and black and tan as well.
German Shepherd Dawg
March 10th, 2010
8:14 pm
Ted,
You want us to think you’re smart and you’re calling yourself Ted Striker?
Are you in the sequel now?
miller
March 10th, 2010
8:22 pm
Expel her from the Legislature immediately, seize all of her assets immediately to pay the liens, and arrest her if the law provides for it. I’m sure there are others in this position of the opposite political party. We don’t care about her sex,race, or party affiliation.
NOBama 2012
March 10th, 2010
8:24 pm
I do think the African-American democrats are leading the race in Georgia for unpaid taxes.
church of the painful truth
March 10th, 2010
8:24 pm
Just did my taxes for 2009. I must pay another 3200.00 to the government. If I don’t pay I will see THE IRS at my door in the next few months!How does she get by with not paying her taxes for eight years?
Nick
March 10th, 2010
8:53 pm
Imagine that…An elected black liberal who refuses to pay taxes…
Lex
March 10th, 2010
8:59 pm
Keep rippin’ off the MAN, I love it, U go girl…..
zackem
March 10th, 2010
9:05 pm
Maybe she thought Obama was gonna pay taxes for her…after he pays all the dimocrats taxes that “forgot” to pay….
Thomas
March 10th, 2010
9:18 pm
Elected crooks in charge of TAX money is a disgrace for all those that play by the rules and pay in full! KICK EM’ OUT!
BG
March 10th, 2010
9:19 pm
Obama told her to let the white man pay her taxes.
Simple
March 10th, 2010
10:04 pm
I pay my taxes. She should pay her’s.
?????
March 11th, 2010
6:42 am
This person should be our next Governor, She might not be as big a crook as THE OX or REAL DEAL but she has a good start.
watts
March 11th, 2010
8:19 am
Politics aside. What has this legislature cost the State in the past 8 years? How much income tax (state and federal), how much per diem has she acquired during these 8 years, how much has she received in benefits (insurance?), how much pay has she received? How many days has she been absent from her job?
These are the issues the state needs to address.
If a legislative member is not present, then they should not receive pay or per diem expenses.
Another issue, what about the large billion dollar IBM contract the governor installed last year. Did you know that IBM is laying off thousands nationwide and outsourcing their jobs overseas?
Army Brat
March 11th, 2010
8:57 am
I’m a black male liberal democrat and I think she should pay her taxes or be put out of the hospital. I don’t remember race being brought up against the former speaker or any of the those white republicans who did anything wrong. Tell me why it has to be brought up here?
dboy
March 11th, 2010
9:18 am
I bet some of you would never post the things you say if you were required to put your real name, phone number and e-mail address. If any of you folks were real men or ladies, you would have the back bone to post your real names and your e-mail in your posts. Then all your friends and the world would know what a real bigot you are!
Aaron Burr V. Mexico
March 11th, 2010
11:15 am
You first dboy.
Peachy
March 11th, 2010
11:17 am
Enter your comments here
East Lake Ira
March 11th, 2010
11:46 am
Lock her up, please.
When will I read a story about how much wealthier Saxby and the Gov. are since they took office? If they are such good businessmen how come they couldn’t make millions before the were elected?
Allen
March 11th, 2010
4:44 pm
She said, “She has not been told it is her.”
How stupid must one be not to know whether you have paid taxes in eight years? More from the Gold Domed cess pool. And you idiots making bigoted comments just undercut those of us would like to see smaller government. If I were a minority and believed the world was still full of fools like you with hoods in closet, I would want the government to protect me too. When you all fade into obscurity, we will be able to keep the focus on getting rid of crooks of all races and religions.
carole
March 11th, 2010
7:12 pm
her name says something….just like charlie rangel who forgot to pay his taxes and take trips to the caribbean with our tax dollar.
Atlanta Unfiltered
March 11th, 2010
11:03 pm
@SuperLifer, thank you. I am the originator of this story as founder and chief bottlewasher at AtlantaUnfiltered.com. Our policy: Never note party affiliation unless it’s clearly relevant. Not paying taxes is a bi-partisan and multiracial phenomenon, as is corruption and incompetence.
Republican turned Democrat
March 12th, 2010
9:35 am
Carole, Rangel didnt go to the Caribbean on your tax dollar. He unknowingly went on the dime of a supporter. Come on, get it right, stop listening to Fox propaganda!
Republican turned Democrat
March 12th, 2010
9:38 am
And Carole, even if he did go on your tax dollar, your personal cost for that trip would amount to about 1/3,667th of a cent! Ignorant people crack me up.