The Rev. Al Sharpton on Wednesday sharply criticized a New York Times article that explored his history of unpaid taxes, rent and other bills, calling the report “misleading and totally out of context.”
During a news conference at the headquarters of his National Action Network in Harlem, Mr. Sharpton sought to refute the article’s assertion that there were $4.5 million in state and federal tax liens outstanding against him and the for-profit businesses he controls. He said that the liens had been paid down, although he declined to say by how much, and that he was “current on all taxes” he was obligated to pay under settlement agreements with tax authorities.
“We’re talking about old taxes,” he said, adding: “We’re not talking about anything new. So all of this, as if I’m not paying taxes while I’m doing whatever I’m doing, it reads all right, but it just is not true.”
State and federal tax records show, however, that the liens against Mr. Sharpton and his businesses remain active, meaning they have not been completely paid off. The article also noted that Mr. Sharpton had said in an interview that he had paid off some of the debt.
Document: Federal Tax Liens Against Sharpton and Raw Talent
The accuracy of Mr. Sharpton’s assertion that the amount he owes the federal government is much lower than the $3.6 million shown in records could not be verified. A spokesman for the Internal Revenue Service said federal law prohibited the agency from divulging any details about individual taxpayers.
As for the state tax liens, Mr. Sharpton’s assertion that he had paid them down conflicts with information provided by state officials. State authorities filed tax liens against Mr. Sharpton in 2008 and 2009, and again in 2010 against a for-profit business he controls, Revals Communications, all totaling $695,000. But a spokesman for the State Department of Taxation and Finance said the amount due had actually increased, to $916,000.
In addition to the liens and warrants against him and his businesses, the advocacy group Mr. Sharpton founded, the National Action Network, owed the federal government more than $800,000 in payroll taxes at the end of 2012, the date of the group’s most recent tax filing. On Wednesday, he repeated an assertion he made in The Times’s article that the debt stemmed from a disagreement with the I.R.S. on how to classify certain workers.
Document: New York State Tax Warrants Against Sharpton and Revals
He did not address financial statements reviewed by The Times in which the group’s accountants indicated that for at least two years the National Action Network was sustaining itself in large part by not turning over money to the federal government for payroll taxes.
Mr. Sharpton said the group’s tax debt might soon be paid off, thanks to the more than $1 million raised at his birthday party last month, but he added that the organization had asked the federal government to lower the amount it owed in penalties.
Mr. Sharpton said he saw a political motivation in the timing of the article, which noted his rise in influence, in part as a result of his relationships with, and role as an informal adviser to, Mayor Bill de Blasio and President Obama. Mr. Sharpton said he had also had relationships with former Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and former President George W. Bush, without drawing any notice.
“A lot of people don’t like the fact that President Obama is the president; a lot of people do not like the fact that Bill de Blasio won for mayor,” he said. “And they certainly don’t like the fact that I’m still here. And I ain’t going nowhere.”
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