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Some Senators Getting D.C. Tax Break by Mistake
"There is an honor system involved here, and [the homestead exemption] is printed on the bills," D.C. Council member Jack Evans said.
(By Preston Keres -- The Washington Post)
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Instead, the new computer system is checking all 87,000 properties claiming the homestead deduction against voting, motor vehicle and other databases. About 40,000 properties have been audited over the past 2 1/2 years; the cycle should be completed by the end of 2007, officials said.
Black said the city will separately contact senators who might be receiving the tax break. The city recently sent letters to some senators, including one to Richard Burr (R-N.C.), which acknowledged its mistake but said he owed $934.10.
Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kan.) changed his status after being alerted to the problem, said Maryann Young, a spokeswoman for the city's tax office.
Representatives of several senators said they are eager to correct any errors and pay whatever they may owe.
"They live in Hyannisport. That's their home. They never signed up for any deduction or knew that they were receiving one," Kennedy spokeswoman Laura Capps said of the senator and his wife, Victoria. "Absolutely, they will pay."
An aide to Lautenberg released a city tax form on which the senator replied "no" when asked whether he should receive the tax break.
Sen. Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) wrote to city officials last month and in June 2002, asking to have the exemption removed from his property tax records.
An accountant working for Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) discovered the deduction on the senator's tax form and contacted the city to clear it up.
David Brog, Specter's chief of staff, said the senator was "looking into it. He wants to find out more about the story. He never asked for this deduction."
Staff writer Petula Dvorak contributed to this report.
