[UPDATE (8:45 PM Wednesday): Interesting twist to this story; now, according to the Washington Post, "D.C. tax officials said Wednesday it was their fault that a state Senate candidate from Virginia got an improper tax break on her Washington Circle condominium." So it looks like this may have been way overblown by the Post in its original story. Of course, there are still MANY reasons to vote against Holtzman Vogel and for Karen Schultz; just not this one, apparently. For the original story, see the "flip."]By the way, does anyone else think it's ironic that Holtzman Vogel is an ethics lawyer? Hmmmmm. Also, does anyone else find it amusing that Holtzman Vogel has been receiving an "improper tax break" while proclaiming "no new taxes" on her website? Apparently, Holtzman Vogel practices exactly what she preaches -- for her own personal finances, that is. Hey, just imagine what this attitude could do for Virginia! Not.
P.S. Perhaps the Vogels might want to review the experience of former Senator Tom Daschle, on this subject. On second thought, given how things ended up for Daschle, perhaps the Vogels might want to avert their eyes on this one.
However, I think you all are making a lot more of this "taking" than actually is the case.
First, while the $60,000 deduction sounds enormous, a review of the article indicates that Vogel got an annual property tax credit of just $528 from 2005 onward. So, she has gotten a total of $1,056 in credits (assuming that the 2007 filing has not taken place). This is not a big deal in terms of money on a million dollar property.
Second, having purchased a number of properties, I have never read all the paperwork and don't know of anyone else who has. It just isn't realistic.
Third, the typical closing has a person giving you multi-page documents every few seconds. At the same time, he/she tells you what the document is (in 15 words or less) and where to sign. The closing documents are inches thick. If you read them, you would be there for many hours and closing are only scheduled for 20 minutes or so.
Let's turn to more serious issues -- like where candidates stand.
"When the couple bought the apartment, they signed "hundreds and hundreds of pages" that they didn't read, said Holtzman Vogel."
Just what we need. A state senator, who when making a nearly-million-dollar purchase from personal funds, doesn't read any of the legal documents supporting the purchase and financing. Oh yeah, she's a lawyer, too.
We already know that the respective Republican caucuses actively encourage their members to maintain ignorance and plausible deniability regarding the warped legislation their leaders push. Witness the abiuse fees debacle.
Holtzman-Vogel will fit right in. Calling Scott Lingamfelter!
It's either a total crock and a big fat lie, or she fits the mold of corrupt and incompetent GOP to a tee!
Also, when I received a homestead exemption (in another state) I had to apply separately for it. It was not part of the closing transaction. The closing agent gave me directions on how to do it, but I had to request an application and aver that this was indeed my primary residence.
There's something similar in VA regarding the car tax--it has to be for personal usage and you have to sign on the dotted line.
I also find it hard to believe that, if part of the closing process, the exemption was not explained to the mortgagees. I have been through about 8 closings in my life, and I always have been told the purpose of the document I have been signing.
Further, from her website: "Jill currently has a nationally recognized law practice in Warrenton, counseling non-profits, corporations, and other clients on tax exempt regulations, ethics rules, corporate law and campaign finance." So she not only is supposed to be an expert in ethics, but also tax exempt regulations.
Though I do not know Ms. Vogel, I do know she worked at the RNC at a time when the RNC was notoriously corrupt.
If she was spending a lot of nights in the District, I wonder if her state income tax filings properly reflect that. As I recall, DC has a higher income tax rate. It would be convenient to claim solely a Virginia residence. And if she was parking her car in the District, was she properly informing her insurance company? Insurers charge much higher rates for cars garaged in DC.
The Schulz campaign should demand to see her loan papers and state income tax filings.
Jill Holtzman Vogel, the only woman ever to serve as chief counsel for the Republican National Committee and her husband, Alex N. Vogel, co-founder of the lobbying group Mehlman Vogel Castagnetti, Inc., have purchased a million dollar condominium. Unit 1G, a two bedroom, two-bathroom penthouse at the Residences at the Ritz Carlton, located at 23rd and L Streets N.W. will serve as the Vogels' Washington residence. Their primary residence is in Virginia horse country where Mrs. Vogel, now in private practice in Warrenton, is running for the 2007 Republican nomination for the state senate seat held by GOP Senator Russ Potts. As the cofounder of Mehlman Vogel Castagnetti, Inc., Mr. Vogel has spent the last ten years counseling members of Congress, political campaigns, corporations and trade associations. Prior to the formation of Mehlman Vogel Castagnetti, he served as chief counsel to Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist. Mr. Vogel has twice been named to Roll Call's "Fabulous 50" most influential people on Capitol Hill.
So there you have it...back in 2005, it was public knowledge that the DC home was not the Vogels "primary residence." But Holtzman Vogel herself didn't know? Uh huh...
The Washington Post is not only running a correction, they're putting out an entirely new story stating that this is entirely the fault of the DC Government. The story states that the Vogels never claimed the exemption, but that the previous owner of the condo had and the exemption was accidentally carried over. They further state that this was not the fault of the Vogels.
This is par for the course from the Dems in this race. I'm disappointed. I've met Karen Schultz, and I think she was a good person and a nice lady. I disagreed with her politics, but that's fine. The type of campaign she has run has really surprised me...there have been a number of these type of stories circulated by the Schultz campaign and Dem operatives that are untrue.
If you want to beat Jill Vogel on the issues, go right ahead. But at the least, this site should have the decency to take down this inaccurate headline. A small correction at the end of the article doesn't cut it, and it didn't cut it for the Post.
Marc Fisher: Sure, the District needs to keep its records clean, and they should have immediately registered the fact that you no longer qualified for a homestead exemption. But that's not the fact pattern in the Vogel case: In that case, the tax bills the family received continued to show that a homestead exemption was in force, yet there's no indication that the Vogels did anything to alert the city to the fact that they were getting an undeserved tax break.
By the way, wouldn't it be "funny" if DC sent the tax papers to the Vogel's address in Virginia? It would take DC's high level of incompetence to a whole new level.