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Democrat Pete Stark Caught Stealing From the People of Maryland
Written by on March 19, 2009, 01:00 PM
By Timothy J. Burger, Bloomberg, 3/19/09 A senior member of the U.S. Houses tax-writing Ways and Means Committee from California has been taking advantage of a tax break for a home in Maryland that he claims as his principal residence. Representative Pete Stark, the second-ranking Democrat on the Ways and Means panel, in 2007 and 2008 saved a total of $3,853 in state and Homeowners in Stark, 77, confirmed in a telephone interview last week that he and his wife, Deborah, are registered to vote in Californias 13th congressional district using the address of her parents in San Lorenzo, about 25 miles southeast of San Francisco. Stark also said both he and his wife have Inquiry Planned Joseph Glorioso, the Stark, in the telephone interview, said, Insofar as I know, Im obeying the law. He said that he stays in the Stark is not alone among politicians who have claimed the tax credit. Last week, the Associated Press reported that U.S. Representative Eliot Engel, a Democrat from Special Privileges Questions about the tax credits some lawmakers claim come amid growing public anger over special privileges for the well- connected, both in the public and private spheres. Senator Chris Dodd, a Connecticut Democrat who heads the Senate Banking Committee, faces a potentially tough re-election bid next year because of reports that Countrywide Financial Corp. gave him a discounted mortgage. American International Group Inc. became the target of congressional wrath this week because of its payment of more than $165 million in bonuses to employees who were partially responsible for the companys financial distress. Stark would save $3,770 under the credit this year on his 3,600-square-foot home located on 6.35 acres in Applications Sent Young said the state has been sending applications to determine eligibility to about a third of Maryland homeowners each year, beginning in December 2007. The form asks, among other things, whether a property owner uses the address in registering to vote and obtaining a drivers license. Stark, who has served in the House since 1973, said in a telephone interview yesterday that he had recently filed the form. If he was deemed ineligible for the tax break, then Id pay whatever the tax was or the state would take my home away, he said. Young said his staff told him an application for the tax credit was submitted for Starks property on Feb. 6. Young said its likely to be rejected. When we process that application, we will deny it based on that factual situation, Young said when told of Starks responses about his ties to Refunds Wont Be Sought Young also said the state doesnt plan to seek recovery of all tax breaks granted in past years. Stark, in the telephone interview last week, was asked if he thought a veteran member of the Ways and Means Committee could be faulted for accepting the type of state tax credit that he has. He responded that he refrained from disputing an increased tax assessment on his Young said I have always abided by whatever determination the Montgomery County Assessment Office makes, Engel said in an e-mailed statement on March 13. I have never asked for any special privileges for being a congressman. Daschle Case Tom Daschle, a South Dakota Democrat, lost his U.S. Senate seat in 2004 after a campaign during which reports surfaced that the year before he had claimed a homestead tax break on a $1.9 million residence in Washington. The Republican who defeated him, John Thune, sought to depict Daschle as out of touch with their home state. Roberta Ward, office manager of the state Department of Assessments and Somebody let it be known that a lot of congressmen were getting the tax break, Ward said. So then we got a list a few years ago and we sent letters to all the congressmen who own property in the county. She estimated the process involved more than a dozen lawmakers. Constitutional Requirements To serve in the House, the U.S. Constitution says that candidates must be Starks 13th district includes industrial and port towns in New Comment |
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