Fredericksburg councilman Tommy Segner says he is a victim of politics, the truth of which depends on your perspective.
Segner, a rabble-rouser and business owner who managed to get himself elected to the City Council, is the target of a recall, the San Antonio Express News is reporting today.
As the paper reported last week the recall is being led by Segner’s fellow council members, Tim Dooley and Graham Pearson. Pearson said the ouster group was well on its way to getting the 457 petition signatures needed by Feb. 24 to force a recall in May.
The group believes Segner ought not be a voting member of a body that levies taxes when he, his wife and two of his businesses are being sued by the federal government for allegedly failing to pay $420,505 in taxes since 2001.
The lawsuit says the Internal Revenue Service tried on numerous occasions and failed to collect from Segner. “Furthermore, efforts to educate Mr. Segner as to the process and importance of these payroll tax statutes have proved futile, “ according to the suit. “Tax returns continue to be filed late, if at all, with little or no payments in them.”
As a council member Segner has displayed similar contempt for the government spending half of the taxation equation, criticizing the council and the administration along the way. It was Segner who called for a referendum in which voters said no to spending 3.2 million tax dollars on an aquatic park.
Notwithstanding the imperceptible curve of his learning about taxes or the federal laws he might have broken, Segner says the real trouble is his local government wanting him out of its hair.
“The bottom line is that I have caused some grief and embarrassment to certain members of this City Council, city staff and to some members of the swimming pool committee,” Segner said in a statement issued Tuesday. “So, my personal issues with the IRS seem to be a good excuse to get back at me.”
As the paper reported last week the recall is being led by Segner’s fellow council members, Tim Dooley and Graham Pearson. Pearson said the ouster group was well on its way to getting the 457 petition signatures needed by Feb. 24 to force a recall in May.
The group believes Segner ought not be a voting member of a body that levies taxes when he, his wife and two of his businesses are being sued by the federal government for allegedly failing to pay $420,505 in taxes since 2001.
The lawsuit says the Internal Revenue Service tried on numerous occasions and failed to collect from Segner. “Furthermore, efforts to educate Mr. Segner as to the process and importance of these payroll tax statutes have proved futile, “ according to the suit. “Tax returns continue to be filed late, if at all, with little or no payments in them.”
As a council member Segner has displayed similar contempt for the government spending half of the taxation equation, criticizing the council and the administration along the way. It was Segner who called for a referendum in which voters said no to spending 3.2 million tax dollars on an aquatic park.
Notwithstanding the imperceptible curve of his learning about taxes or the federal laws he might have broken, Segner says the real trouble is his local government wanting him out of its hair.
“The bottom line is that I have caused some grief and embarrassment to certain members of this City Council, city staff and to some members of the swimming pool committee,” Segner said in a statement issued Tuesday. “So, my personal issues with the IRS seem to be a good excuse to get back at me.”
***
Contact Mark Lisheron at 512-299-2318 or mark@texaswatchdog.org or on Twitter at @marktxwatchdog.
Keep up with all the latest news from Texas Watchdog. Fan our page on Facebook, follow us on Twitter and Scribd, and fan us on YouTube. Join our network on de.licio.us, and put our RSS feeds in your newsreader. We're also on MySpace, Digg, FriendFeed, and tumblr.
Photo 'Tax Time' by flickr user Images_of_Money, used via a Creative Commons license.
Contact Mark Lisheron at 512-299-2318 or mark@texaswatchdog.org or on Twitter at @marktxwatchdog.
Keep up with all the latest news from Texas Watchdog. Fan our page on Facebook, follow us on Twitter and Scribd, and fan us on YouTube. Join our network on de.licio.us, and put our RSS feeds in your newsreader. We're also on MySpace, Digg, FriendFeed, and tumblr.
Photo 'Tax Time' by flickr user Images_of_Money, used via a Creative Commons license.
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