Hartzler Campaign Evading Payroll Taxes?

Just released by the Ike Skelton campaign: "[Vicky] Hartzler is evading paying taxes by classifying all of her full-time campaign workers as independent contractors rather than employees, in direct violation of IRS rules. As a result of not having any employees, there is no record in Vicky Hartzler for Congress campaign finance reports of the campaign making payroll tax payments to the United States Treasury or the State of Missouri’s Department of Revenue, and there is no record of the campaign making unemployment tax payments to the State of Missouri’s Division of Employment Security."

We'll update this post as we learn of Hartzler's response...

Full release from the Skelton campaign below the jump.

Skelton Campaign Demands that Hartzler Stop Evading Payroll Taxes, Immediately Pay Back Taxes
~ FEC Records Indicate that Hartzler hasn’t paid a penny of payroll taxes on her campaign staff ~

Lexington, Mo.—Today Ike Skelton’s campaign demanded that his opponent, Vicky Hartzler, stop evading paying taxes on her campaign employees and immediately pay back taxes. According to recently filed FEC reports Hartzler is the only Missouri candidate for a competitive federal race that hasn’t paid a penny in payroll taxes on her campaign staff.

Hartzler is evading paying taxes by classifying all of her full-time campaign workers as independent contractors rather than employees, in direct violation of IRS rules. As a result of not having any employees, there is no record in Vicky Hartzler for Congress campaign finance reports of the campaign making payroll tax payments to the United States Treasury or the State of Missouri’s Department of Revenue, and there is no record of the campaign making unemployment tax payments to the State of Missouri’s Division of Employment Security. 

“It’s downright embarrassing that Vicky Hartzler is evading her payroll taxes at the same time hard working Missouri families and businesses are paying theirs,” said campaign manager Jason Rauch. “Vicky Hartzler has shown herself to be no friend of our military or our veterans, now she’s thumbing her nose at the rest of Missouri’s taxpayers. She should immediately pay back the taxes she owes.”
According to the Internal Revenue Service, “the general rule is that an individual is an independent contractor if you, the person for whom the services are performed, have the right to control or direct only the result of the work and not the means and methods of accomplishing the result.” Otherwise the person should be considered an employee.

Hartzler’s brazenness goes as far as misclassifying her campaign spokesman and political director as “independent contractor” rather than employees.

According to the IRS, “If you classify an employee as an independent contractor and you have no reasonable basis for doing so, you may be held liable for employment taxes for that worker. See Internal Revenue Code section 3509 for more information.”

To read what the IRS says about classifying a worker as a contractor versus an employee, please visit http://www.irs.gov/businesses/small/article/0,,id=99921,00.html

Hartzler’s campaign finance reports show:

Samantha Hill, as far back as November 2009, was described as Vicky Hartzler’s political director in news accounts.  In July 2010 she was described in a news publication as “a campaign worker for Republican Congressional candidate Vicky Hartzler.”  (The Sedalia Democrat, 11/17/09 and 04/02/10, Roll Call, 04/27/10, and Midwest Voices, 07/07/10)

Samantha Hill was paid 12 times for consulting, “grassroots” work, “contract labor” or “independent contract work.”  She was paid for such work:

• $2,500 on September 12, 2009;
• $2,500 on October 26, 2009;
• $2,500 on November 30, 2009;
• $2,500 on December 28, 2009;
• $2,500 on January 16, 2010;
• $2,500 on February 15, 2010;
• $2,500 on March 27, 2010;
• $2,500 on April 24, 2010;
• $2,653 on June 11, 2010, though this amount included expense reimbursements;
• $2,500 on July 1, 2010;
• $2,500 on July 21, 2010; and
• $2,500 on September 1, 2010.  (Vicky Hartzler for Congress, 2009-10 Reports of Receipts and Disbursements Filed with the Federal Election Commission)

Steve Walsh is referred to regularly in media accounts as Vicky Hartzler’s campaign “spokesman.”  (The Associated Press State & Local Wire, 08/11/10, The Daily Star-Journal, 08/12/10, The Sedalia Democrat, 09/10/10, 09/24/10, 09/30/10, 10/03/10 and 10/14/10, and Prime Buzz, 09/23/10 and 09/24/10)

He is often seen with Vicky Hartzler on the campaign trail. 

Steve Walsh was paid $3,000 for “contract labor” on September 1, 2010.

Michael Tyler was paid $1,500 for “contract labor” on June 16, 2010, and he was paid $1,000 for “contract labor” on July 1, 2010.  He was paid $1,000 for consulting on July 21, 2010, and $1,000 for consulting on September 1, 2010.

Kathleen Midgett was paid for “contract labor” $1,000 on July 1, 2010, $1,000 on July 21, 2010, and $1,000 on September 1, 2010.

Adam Davis was paid for “contract labor” $1,000 on July 1, 2010, and $1,000 on July 21, 2010.

Donna Spickert was paid for “contract labor” $2,600 on July 1, 2010, $2,600 on July 21, 2010, and $2,800 on September 1, 2010.

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