The Clermont County Democratic Party today issued a press release (below the fold) accusing embattled Republican Jean Schmidt of being a tax scofflaw. Her "family business" pays only $95 per year in taxes on a property valued in the millions.
Schmidt, you may recall, was the woman in the Captain America suit who called Jack Murtha a "coward" on the floor of Congress. Showing the true courage of a legislator willing to condemn herself to the pen, she then sponsored legislation to make flag desecration a federal crime.
If some Ohioans continued to believe their Schmidt don't stink, our inestimable congressentity then backed a secret proposal to turn the Piketon, Ohio, federal energy reservation into the world's largest storage dump for commercial spent nuclear fuel -- a proposal that John McCain still appears to favor. Schmidt thus became the first Member of Congress in history to invite high-level nuclear waste into her own district -- albeit 67 air miles downwind of her home.
That caper nearly got Schmidt beaten in 2006 by public health physician Victoria Wulsin, now back for a second shot (In lieu of condolences to OH-02 residents, contribute to Wulsin.
The Schmidt continues to fly in OH-02. In 2007, Schmidt was caught red-handed, so to speak, plagiarizing a police officer for her regular newspaper column. More recently, Schmidt became the spokesmodel for the phony allegation that China was drilling for oil off the Florida coast. She defended herself from that charge by pointing to the large number of others in her party who were telling the same lie.
In deep Schmidt, the district has changed from heavily Republican to majority Democrat, and bumperstickers are increasingly common reading: "Get that Schmidt Out of Here!"
Following is the new press release:
Clermont County Democratic Party
10 North 2nd Street Batavia, Ohio 45103
For Immediate Release
August 14, 2008
Contact: Dave Lane
513-732-2378
Is Schmidt Paying Her Fair Share?
Schmidt Family Business Pays Virtually No Taxes on Multi-Million Dollar Clermont County Property
Batavia, Ohio – Clermont County Democratic Party Chair Dave Lane today called on Representative Jean Schmidt to explain how her family business avoids paying all but $95 in taxes on a 47 acre piece of land valued at two to four million dollars.
Schmidt’s official financial disclosure form lists her as a co-owner of several pieces of land in Clermont County, including a 47 acre parcel at the corner of Loveland-Miamiville and Branch Hill Guinea Pike Road in Loveland, OH. Though the property is valued at between two and four million dollars, records obtained from the Clermont County Recorders Office indicate that Schmidt’s family business paid a total of about $95 in property taxes last year.
"Something certainly sounds fishy here," said Dave Lane, Clermont County Democratic Party Chair. "Any homeowner in Clermont County can tell you that paying $95 on a multi-million dollar property just doesn’t sound right."
According to the Clermont County Recorders Office, Schmidt’s company claims an agricultural tax break, even though her family business which owns the land is a commercial real estate company.
"While working families are struggling, our elected officials should be held to a higher standard and not use loopholes to avoid paying their fair share of taxes," Lane said.