Mrs. McCain, San Diego County Would Like a Word

[Pirate Smile]

Source: Newsweek

When you're poor, it can be hard to pay the bills. When you're rich, it's hard to keep track of all the bills that need paying. It's a lesson Cindy McCain learned the hard way when NEWSWEEK raised questions about an overdue property-tax bill on a La Jolla, Calif., property owned by a trust that she oversees. Mrs. McCain is a beer heiress with an estimated $100 million fortune and, along with her husband, she owns at least seven properties, including condos in California and Arizona.

San Diego County officials, it turns out, have been sending out tax notices on the La Jolla property, an oceanfront condo, for four years without receiving a response. County records show the bills, which were mailed to a Phoenix address associated with Mrs. McCain's trust, were returned by the post office. According to a McCain campaign aide, who requested anonymity when discussing a private matter, an elderly aunt of Mrs. McCain's lives in the condo, and the bank that manages the trust has not been receiving tax bills on the property. Shortly after NEWSWEEK inquired about the matter, the McCain aide e-mailed a receipt dated Friday, June 27, confirming payment by the trust to San Diego County in the amount of $6,744.42. County officials say the trust still owes an additional $1,742 for this year, an amount that is overdue and will go into default July 1. Told of the outstanding $1,742, the aide said: "The trust has paid all bills shown owing as of today and will pay all other bills due."

Dan McAllister, treasurer- tax collector for San Diego County, said that about 3 percent of San Diego's approximately 1 million property owners default on their property taxes each year. The county assesses a 1.5 percent penalty for each month that goes by unpaid and puts houses up for sale after five years. "We do hear an awful lot of excuses for why people don't pay," McAllister said. "Under the law, the property owner is responsible for keeping the address current. We're only as good as the information we are given."



Read more: http://www.newsweek.com/id/143775/

[Clovis Sangrail]

1. damn...

newsweek shouldn't have told her it was in default.
I would have gone up for auction.

I would have loved to have seen that headline.

[Fridays Child]

2. McCain's wife is an heiress with $100 million and seven homes but Obama is an elitist?

How many gallons of Kool-Aid do the Fox Noise-Limbaugh dittoheads have to gag on to forget how badly that pile of poo stinks?

[babylonsister]

3. NO KIDDING! And she can't pay her bills?!

The 'elitist' ran an innovative, successful primary campaign with donations from people like me.

I'm thinking one is just smarter than the other.

[olddad56]

26. she shouldn't have to pay them, she is wealthy, she should be exempt.

[grannylib]

4. EXACTLY! This "elitist" shit is such a crock

W is elitist.
McSame is elitist.
Obama is the REAL "guy next door" that the fuckers tried to paint W as...
Bunch of shit.

[babylonsister]

5. grannylib,

I love you! Every time I see 'granny', I think of mine (long gone now), and you ain't her! :rofl:
But I love your comments. :pals:

[stillcool]

6. Uh-oh..Congress

better hop to, and pass a law that exempts the McCain's from paying taxes.. retro-actively of course.

[Liberty Belle]

7. Thanks. I'm in San Diego, and will be posting this on conservative blogs here.

:evilgrin:

Along with a few thousand of my closest liberal friends.

[tinrobot]

8. McCains Defaulted on California Taxes

Source: Newsweek

When you're poor, it can be hard to pay the bills. When you're rich, it's hard to keep track of all the bills that need paying. It's a lesson Cindy McCain learned the hard way when NEWSWEEK raised questions about an overdue property-tax bill on a La Jolla, Calif., property owned by a trust that she oversees. Mrs. McCain is a beer heiress with an estimated $100 million fortune and, along with her husband, she owns at least seven properties, including condos in California and Arizona.

San Diego County officials, it turns out, have been sending out tax notices on the La Jolla property, an oceanfront condo, for four years without receiving a response. County records show the bills, which were mailed to a Phoenix address associated with Mrs. McCain's trust, were returned by the post office. According to a McCain campaign aide, who requested anonymity when discussing a private matter, an elderly aunt of Mrs. McCain's lives in the condo, and the bank that manages the trust has not been receiving tax bills on the property. Shortly after NEWSWEEK inquired about the matter, the McCain aide e-mailed a receipt dated Friday, June 27, confirming payment by the trust to San Diego County in the amount of $6,744.42. County officials say the trust still owes an additional $1,742 for this year, an amount that is overdue and will go into default July 1. Told of the outstanding $1,742, the aide said: "The trust has paid all bills shown owing as of today and will pay all other bills due."

Dan McAllister, treasurer- tax collector for San Diego County, said that about 3 percent of San Diego's approximately 1 million property owners default on their property taxes each year. The county assesses a 1.5 percent penalty for each month that goes by unpaid and puts houses up for sale after five years. "We do hear an awful lot of excuses for why people don't pay," McAllister said. "Under the law, the property owner is responsible for keeping the address current. We're only as good as the information we are given."

Read more: http://www.newsweek.com/id/143775/

[Newsjock]

9. But, but ... John is a *war hero!*

Can America not forgive a *war hero* for such an *innocent mistake*? Why do we even make a *war hero* pay any taxes at all? The officials in San Diego County ought to be *ashamed* of themselves for *harrassing* a *war hero*!

(Sorry, just practicing what CNN et al. are going to say about this.)

[Terry_M]

10. So that's why he wants to keep the tax cuts for the rich permanent?

o_0

[sakabatou]

11. I hope Obama hits him with this in the ads.

[Demit]

12. "a private matter"? This is the excuse for granting anonymity to a campaign aide?

Taxes aren't a private matter. They're a very public matter. Shame on Newsweek. I find this article a very understated treatment of what would have been blared from the rooftops if it had been John Kerry or John Edwards who had been behind in their taxes.

[izquierdista]

13. Yes, let me think...

Taxes a private matter. Shall we ask Al Franken if that excuse washes? Will Republicans just nod in agreement and agree with the difficulty of paying taxes not in your home state?

I didn't think so.

[Mz Pip]

14. Considering the fiscal mess

CA is experiencing, this will not play well.

Another senior moment, Senator McForgotIhadtopaytaxes.

[stillcool]

15. What's Wesley Snipes doing time for?

[OwnedByFerrets]

16. Good Point!!

[populistdriven]

19. from the newsweek story - its due to a bad address

. County records show the bills, which were mailed to a Phoenix address associated with Mrs. McCain's trust, were returned by the post office.

[Vinca]

20. I don't know about you, but if I didn't get a property tax bill for 4 years

I might inquire about it. Who wants to bet he called her a bad name again for "forgetting" the taxes?:rofl:

[Gormy Cuss]

23. Right, and it also says that it's the property owner's responsibility to inform the county

of address changes. If the taxes weren't paid for a year or two, perhaps the trust would have an excuse but four years? That's either gross incompetence on the part of the trustee or a planned event. Note that during the last week of June when they hurried up to pay the backlog they didn't include a check for the current taxes which are due on July 1, this coming Tuesday.

The taxes are really low which suggests to me that the trust has held this property for a long time. Prop 13 would keep the taxes low as long as there was no change in ownership. A small oceanfront condo sold today in La Jolla would have annual taxes on the order of $8000-$10,000.

[Alexander]

17. K&R. This can sink McCain if we keep bringing it up at every turn.

[Liberty Belle]

18. So they're "deadbeats." spread that around, please.

San Diego can't even afford to buy firetrucks to protect us from wildfires, even after the 2 worst fires in state history devastated our area.

Damn Cindy to hell; lives are at stake for people to pay their taxes here!

[Dollface]

21. This is a big non-issue unless the county forgives the tax bill. They are housing an elderly aunt.

Sounds like the trustee dropped the ball. You don't really think she handles those bills herself, do you? I wonder if the aunt pays rent.

[kimmylavin]

29. How is it a non-issue?

My husband and I were not able to pay our property taxes in April as we're getting KILLED with the gas prices in California. We've since received two threatening notices.

An heiress can't hire an accountant or a $15/hour assistant to handle the bills from one of their properties? Especially one where an older aunt lives? Even if the "dropped the ball" thing holds - how the hell do you drop it for four years? Give me a break.

[Dollface]

30. Its a non-issue in that they're not "getting away" with anything.

You don't go to jail for not paying your real estate taxes. You just lose the property. This is not tax evasion.

Yes, it does show that they have so much money they can actually lose track of a house. But being rich isn't a crime. As a peasant, I am amazed by this but am more offended by the adultery and hypocrisy of the Mcsames. Although whoever is doing their tax returns should have caught it. Maybe they got some former Enron bean counters.

[panzerfaust]

22. The- current - Mrs. McCain is an heiress,

twenty years younger than John, and came with political connections as well as her fortune.

She became the current Mrs. McCain a month after John divorced the former Mrs. McCain - the one who waited whilst McCain was a POW, the one who was badly injured and now confined to a wheelchair as a result of a car crash.

Yep. People change. I have been divorced myself - but then I am not a FAMILY VALUES 'till-death-do-us-part Republican candidate for president.

I also, though unhappily, pay my share of taxes.

[MindPilot]

24. Just declare the condo a "war memorial" and give the land to the feds

Hey, it worked for the cross!

[FMArouet]

25. Guess the McCains just forgot about the condo.

After all, John McCain never knowingly breaks a commitment or flip-flops. He just forgets--what he said yesterday; how he voted last week.

Remember, too, that members of the looting class, of which McCain and beer heiress Cindy are prime exemplars, don't actually need to do regular people tasks like hunting for bargains at the supermarket, filling their gas tanks, scrambling to provide health care for their children, paying bills, balancing a household budget, or in general keeping track of stuff.

They hire servants for that sort of thing.

[tinrobot]

27. They have so many houses they simply forget they have them.

...but they're not elitists.

[Crowman1979]

28. Well if the McCain's are this careless about their property,

Imagine how they will be about the nation. Oh, health care, social security, education? We just forgot about that, no biggie!

[SahaleArm]

31. Why is San Diego ocean front property taxed at only $1742/year?

Thanks to CA Prop-13 the McCain's ocean front property gets valued lower than a newly purchased $200k house with a view of the garbage dump. Not to mention the tax valuation is inherited; nothing like creating a permanent land aristocracy. With housing prices cratering over the next 3-4 years and California in a $14-billion hole it will be interesting to see if Prop-13 survives. In the meantime I'll rent at 60% of the price to own.

[deacon]

32. She's an "elitist." n/t

[hughee99]

33. Interesting thread...

Based on the posts, it sounds like there's a presidential candidate who is a "war hero" (in quotes) and flip-flops on positions that married a wealthy woman, who some are calling an "elitist", and there are issues pertaining to trusts that she controls.

It's the "free republic circa 2004" twilight zone.