Lucia

de Vernai

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May 12, 2008

Al Sharpton, Innocent Victim of IRS Intimidation (Well That’s What He Says!)

The law finally caught up with Al Capone, the early 20th Century gangster who terrorized Chicago, when the IRS put him behind bars for tax evasion. They have been living up to their fame ever since.

Most recently, Wesley Snipes, of Blade glory, received a three-year prison sentence for trying to cheat the government out of its well-deserved tax dollars. Now none other than the Rev. Al Sharpton is on their black list. The famous civil rights leader and his nonprofit group, the National Action Network, owe $1.5 million in back taxes and associated fees. The NAN has been “negotiating” (read: buying time) with the federal government over the size of the debt while they have been trying to pay off the pretty sum they owe for not maintaining workers compensation and unemployment insurance. Ironic for a group that seeks to promote “one standard of justice and decency for all people.”

What a shame he didn’t make it past the presidential primaries last time around. The country needs more honest people like that. To be fair, when approached about the issue, Sharpton told the Associated Press that the U.S. attorney’s investigation of NAN’s shifty practices is retaliation. "I think that that is why they try to intimidate us," he said.

But of course – the objective of evading tax and employer responsibilities was a way of carrying on the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. Obviously working for PepsiCo. and getting bankrolled by New York’s major politicians was not enough to prove Sharpton’s martyrdom. Those nasty governmental agencies singling him out for evading taxes must surely be engaged in a conspiracy against those committed to civil service, right?

Sharpton’s for-profit venture, Rev. Al Communications, owes the State of New York almost $180,000 in taxes. Trying to make himself look like the victim here is the kid of cheap trick we thought Sharpton left in the past – along with his mix-up in the Tawana Brawley affair and previous accusations of tax fraud. He’s always managed to keep his record clean – perhaps his reputation precedes him and the judicial system did not want to be accused of racial discrimination with every verdict. 

Sharpton has been an undeniable asset to the progress of race relations in the country, but he – and his fellow advocates – risk the loss of legitimacy and trust if the cause becomes tainted with the questionable financial situation of its leading figures. Since Sharpton has made it his life’s goal to bring transgressors to justice and never let figures in power forget that no one is above the law, maybe it’s time that he practice what he preaches.

There is something utterly hypocritical and disgraceful about using the noble fight for civil rights as a justification for the lack of honesty and transparency in business dealings. Holding Sharpton responsible for his tax evasion (and shady campaign finance in 2004’s presidential run) is not a way of discounting or distracting from his work for racial justice. Rather, it’s a way of holding him to the same standard of accountability and integrity that his political work and his faith require.  

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