Friends of Dick Lugar: Richard Mourdock Should Pay Back Taxes and Penalties Before Personally Funding His Campaign

INDIANAPOLIS, Oct. 20, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- A senior official in Senator Richard Lugar's campaign today called on Indiana State Treasurer Richard Mourdock to pay his back taxes following press reports that Mourdock loaned $100,000 of his own money to keep his campaign afloat. Without this cash infusion, Mourdock's campaign would have been nearly broke.

This hefty campaign payment to himself comes while Mourdock owes back property taxes to Marion County, Indiana. In addition, Indiana State law mandates that Mourdock also owes interest and penalties on those back taxes.

WTHR-TV Channel 13 and the Evansville Courier & Press first reported in June and July that Richard Mourdock had taken a homestead exemption on two homes, one in Indianapolis and one in Evansville, which is illegal under Indiana law.

During that time period, Mourdock received on two different occasions pink colored Treasurer Form TS-1A stating that "Homestead fraud causes higher tax bills for all." The same Treasurer Form also states that an owner has 60 days to self-report when "a taxpayer becomes ineligible to receive a homestead deduction on a property for any reason."

"Mr. Mourdock has claimed that he didn't know that he was getting a homestead exemption on his Indianapolis home," said David Willkie, Political Director of the Friends of Dick Lugar. "But, sadly, this excuse is just not believable." Willkie said that during the period that Mourdock was illegally taking two homestead exemptions, Mourdock also requested that the value of his property in Indianapolis be reassessed. "Anyone who had examined their property tax bill closely enough to file for a reassessment must have known that they were receiving a homestead exemption." Now, four months later, Richard Mourdock has yet to pay state mandated back taxes, interest and penalties. On Thursday, October 13, 2011, Marion County issued Mr. Mourdock a new tax bill.

"As supporters of Dick Lugar, a true fiscal conservative, we believe that Richard Mourdock should have paid his back property tax bill before funding his personal political campaign," said David Willkie, Friends of Dick Lugar political director. "Mr. Mourdock is a master of tricky, sleight-of-hand political rhetoric. But Indiana doesn't need a rhetorical wizard in the U.S. Senate. Now more than ever, we need leaders whose actions command respect and who get things done. Dick Lugar is that man."

SOURCE Friends of Dick Lugar