July 29, 2008
Wexler Games the Tax Codes of Fla and Md
We have more details on how Congressman Robert Wexler -- for whom no liberal spending program is too much -- has gamed the tax system for his benefit:
Accusing U.S. Rep. Robert Wexler of being more of a Maryland resident than a Floridian, the six-term Democrat's challengers in the Nov. 4 general election say he can't sufficiently grasp area residents' concerns about home ownership costs because he isn't paying local property taxes or rents. The criticism follows news reports that Wexler is the only member of Congress from Florida who doesn't own a home in the district, and therefore pays no Florida property taxes. "When he says he feels for you and understands your pain of high property taxes, well, he may feel for you but he doesn't experience it as if it were him paying," said former Broward Mayor Ben Graber, who is running for the 19th Congressional District under no party affiliation. Republican Ed Lynch, of Royal Palm Beach, another Wexler challenger, said: "He can't truly represent the people if he doesn't know what it's like to be in the district. There's not much of an argument he can make to other members of Congress and state officials about property taxes if he isn't actually paying our property taxes." Wexler pays taxes on the home he owns in Montgomery County, Maryland. His most recent tax bill there includes a $948 state property tax and a $7,747 county property tax. Wexler doesn't pay any income taxes. There's no Florida income tax, and members of Congress are exempt from paying income taxes on their residences in the Washington, D.C. area. The south Palm Beach County home of Wexler's in-laws' that he uses as his official residence has been tax exempt since 2002.