Today a prominent celebrity news site, TMZ, reported that one of the world’s most well known movie stars failed to pay his taxes in 2004 and 2005 and now owes the government nearly $80,000 in back taxes. This celebrity also happens to be the governor of the state of California.
According to documents filed in L.A. County Superior Court, Arnold Schwarzenegger owes the IRS $39,047 from 2004 and $40,016 from 2005.
In total the Guv owes $79,064.00 … and as we all know, he’s definitely not saving the money for rainy day traffic violations.
An official at the L.A. County Recorder’s Office tells TMZ their system shows the lien is still active.
Calls to Arnold’s office have not been returned.
The story has since been confirmed by the Governor’s office and the problem has been blamed on a “a minor paperwork tracking discrepancy.”
The Governator will be termed out in 2010 and arguably the current state of California is in need of more change than our nation after President George W. Bush. While the housing crisis, burst of the tech bubble, or highest rate of unemployment rate since before World War II cannot all be attributed to Arnold, his administration has done little to turn things around and create a long term strategy for the nation’s most populous state.
Budget crisis after budget crisis and the state annually more than $20 billion in the red? Arnold’s solution: furloughs (including the tax department) and ineffective taxes. Yearly multi-million dollar fire disasters? Arnold’s solution: declare a state of emergency. A health care system bankrupting the state? Arnold’s solution: veto reforms. Crumbling education system? Arnold’s solution: allow public education tuition to rise 32% in a single year.
Because a celebrity gossip website has more investigative journalism on the state’s first family than mainstream television or newspaper, many on the national scene have dismissed Arnold’s latest mistake. But this is California; things are done differently. California needs dramatic change- a solution unique to the complexity of the state’s political structure and the extremely diverse and ever changing population. Unfortunately, the potential Democratic candidate(s) for governor in 2010 have failed yet to capture the hearts of progressive Californians.
The state needs Arnold out. Anything short of a (currently nonexistent) political savior cannot save the state. It has been irreversibly damaged due to Arnold’s lack of long term planning.
By Emma Sandoe
3 Comments
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