Just the latest in a failed business record
In December, Rep. Scott Taylor voted to gut deductions for state and local taxes – including property taxes – that benefitted middle class families and homeowners in his district. At that point he was already months delinquent on…you guessed it…property taxes.
The Virginian Pilot reported last night that Taylor “has been delinquent in paying $11,842 in property taxes, interests and penalty charges on his rental properties in Norfolk and Virginia Beach, according to city tax and property records.”
He has been delinquent for at least three quarters, with the first overpaid bill arriving in October 2017. Despite the timeline, Taylor’s spokesperson blamed the delinquency on the demands of his taxpayer funded job and his primary election, which happened on June 12th, or less than two weeks ago.
Over his failed career as a real estate developer and business owner, Taylor has accumulated at least $1.5 million in legal judgements for failing to pay personal and business debts. In one case, Taylor’s landlord sued him for more than a year of unpaid rent amounting to nearly $150k. You can read more about that here.
“At the height of hypocrisy, Rep. Scott Taylor voted to raise taxes on homeowners in his district while his own unpaid property tax bills were piling up. This may be just the latest example of Taylor racking up debt and failing to pay the bills, but it’s clear that it’s his constituents who can no longer afford to have him in Congress.” – DCCC Spokesperson Jacob Peters
The front page of The Virginian-Pilot this morning
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Rep. Taylor has been delinquent in paying $11,842 in property taxes | The Virginian Pilot
June 21, 2018
By Bill Bartell
U.S. Rep. Scott Taylor has been delinquent in paying $11,842 in property taxes, interests and penalty charges on his rental properties in Norfolk and Virginia Beach, according to city tax and property records.
Taylor, a real estate investor, apparently ignored accumulating tax bills sent every three months since last fall for six rental house, a duplex and a vacant lot in Norfolk and a townhouse in Virginia Beach. Taxes on a second Beach townhouse owned by Taylor were up to date.
When contacted by The Pilot Thursday morning about the delinquencies, Taylor spokesman Scott Weldon said the congressman told him the overdue bills were paid Wednesday. As of Thursday afternoon, Norfolk’s treasurer had not received the payments.
No payment was recorded on Virginia Beach records Thursday. Treasurer John Atkinson said any payments received Thursday wouldn’t be recorded online until after business hours that day.
Weldon, who acknowledged that Taylor personally handles the tax bills, said they went unpaid because the Virginia Beach Republican was preoccupied with legislative business and his recent June 12 GOP primary.
“He got busy with everything going on. … It slipped his mind,” Weldon said. “I think he just got caught up with everything in Washington. All the traveling and the primary and everything. It was just a lapse. … That’s what he said to me.”
Sam Stein, an administrator in Norfolk Treasurer’s office, said it’s possible there’s lag time between when a taxpayer sends a payment and the city receives it. All payments are processed and posted immediately, he said.
Property taxes are billed every three months to the owner – or the mortgage holder. If they are not paid, the next bill – sent three months later – includes the overdue amount along with any interest and penalties. If an owner ignores 12 months of billings, state law requires cities send a “demand letter’ warning the taxpayer that legal action will be taken if the bills aren’t paid, Stein said.
“The demand basically just tells you you’re delinquent and you’re subject to be being turned over for judicial review,” Stein said.
Taylor’s properties were close to that deadline. All of his Norfolk properties have been delinquent at least three quarters. He made a late partial or complete payment for each property’s August bill on Oct. 16, 2017, but has not paid quarterly bills sent in October, February and April. The most recent bill was due June 5.
Most of the properties, which are listed as owned by Taylor’s company, Assurance Properties LLC, have been a source of income, according to his 2017 federal Financial Disclosure Statement.
His total annual rental income from the homes last year was between $45,000 and $135,000, according to the disclosure statement filed May 15. The reports filed by members of Congress and federal candidates only require reporting of a range of incomes or loans.
Taylor also reported having a loan of between $500,000 and $1 million with First Union Bank in Virginia Beach on a “mortgage on rental properties” taken out in September 2015. City records show Assurance Properties purchased most of the homes in 2015.
Most of Taylor’s Norfolk homes are older structures built in the 1920s, 1940s and 1950s. Their assessed values range from $86,300 to $165,000, and collectively are assessed at $928,700, according Norfolk property records. The two Beach residences are valued at $130,000 and $130,800.
The Pilot was first contacted about the delinquencies by American Bridge 21st Century, a progressive political action committee that supports Democratic candidates and targets Republicans, including Taylor, for defeat. The super PAC, begun in 2010, conducts opposition research examining the records of officials or candidates running against Democrats.
The Pilot independently verified the details of the delinquencies and properties.
Taylor, who was first elected in 2016, is competing in the Nov. 6 election against Democrat Elaine Luria.
Luria is up to date on property tax payments for two houses she and her husband own in Norfolk, according to city records. Her business, The Mermaid Factory, leases storefront space in Norfolk and Virginia Beach. Both location’s taxes are current, records show.