Friday, February 1, 2008

More Lawmakers Behind on Tax Payments

First, it was Republican House Speaker Lance Cargill. Now it's the GOP's second-highest House Republican, Rep. Gus Blackwell, who is behind on his taxes.

Media reports today reveal that Blackwell was "shocked and surprised" to discover that he had paid his property taxes late for 13 years. The news caused Blackwell to drop out of the race to be the new Speaker of the House.

To be fair, several Oklahoma Democrats have also made news for their tax woes. One of them, Rep. Judy Eason McIntyre of Tulsa, missed a Dec. 31 deadline to pay at least half of a $397 property tax bill.

People make mistakes, it's true, but Oklahoma voters ought have legislative leaders who will comply with the tax code. That's hardly asking a lot, and some of our sorry leaders can't even manage that.

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