Edwards is 4 months late on taxes

Sen. John Edwards, North Carolina Democrat and 2004 presidential hopeful, is four months delinquent in paying the property taxes on his Georgetown mansion and owes the cash-strapped District more than $11,000, city records show.

Mr. Edwards is worth somewhere between $12 million and $30 million after a successful career as a personal injury lawyer, according to his financial disclosure forms. He bought the eight-bedroom, 6,672-square-foot home in the tony neighborhood for $3.8 million in September.

In February, the city sent Mr. Edwards a tax bill for $9,562.46, which he was supposed to have paid by March 31, according to tax records. As of 3:30 p.m. yesterday, Mr. Edwards owed $11,092.46 with interest and penalties, according to the city’s tax collection office.

Mr. Edwards’ office was not aware of the unpaid taxes but at 7 p.m. yesterday issued the following response by e-mail after The Washington Times faxed a copy of the bill:

The senator and his wife, Elizabeth, “had not received a bill. As soon as they received one, they paid it,” the statement says.

Mr. Edwards’ delinquency came during a year in which the city faced a $323 million budget shortfall. The District was forced to cut funding for public education and a wide array of city services.

The senator’s tax bill is among the city’s largest for private homeowners.

“That’s a lot of money,” said Virginia Daisley, a spokeswoman for the city tax collection office.

“There’s no reason for not paying your tax bill,” she said. “I guess if you’re in the hospital or something, but still you have to pay your taxes.”

On the presidential campaign trail, Mr. Edwards often rails against President Bush’s tax cuts as giveaways to wealthy people for whom tens of thousands of dollars is pocket change.

For example, in a June speech at Georgetown University, Mr. Edwards criticized “tax-free tax shelters for millionaires that are bigger than most Americans’ paychecks for an entire year.”

In the same speech, where he laid out his vision for revising the U.S. tax code, Mr. Edwards said, “In these times of national sacrifice, we should not be asking less of the most fortunate.”

Ron Faucheux, author of the book “Running for Office” and editor of Campaigns & Elections magazine, said: “You have to take care of those personal issues before you run for office, whether you’re running for local office or president of the United States.”

Mr. Edwards’ wealth and occupation mean that he has to be particularly attentive to such matters, Mr. Faucheux said.

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