Tea Party Candidate for Maine Paul LePage Flapping on Taxing Questions

Paul LePage, the Tea Party Republican candidate for the Governor of Maine is being asked some tough questions on the campaign trail about his wife's tax troubles in Florida, as well as potential tuition savings the family may have incurred due to claiming permanent residence in that State.

In what Florida officials are calling a "serious matter" LePage's wife, Ann LePage, is being investigated for claiming homestead tax exemptions on both a home in Florida and in Maine - under tax laws an individual cannot claim to be the primary resident of two homes at the same time.

Florida tax appraiser Morgan Gilreath says this is a "serious matter" in which:

"There can be criminal prosecution with up to $5,000 dollars and up to one year in prison. We have not had that happen and I would not put that into play but the form that people sign has that on it."

At one point George LePage's name also appeared on the deed of the Waterville, Florida home.

A potentially even bigger issue is the fact that LePage's two children were both attending Florida State University at the time she was claiming to be a permanent resident there. Doing this could save tens-of-thousands in tuition fees because in-state fees are much lower than out-of-state tuition fees.

When Paul LePage was asked by reporter about the potential savings that may have come from his children only having to pay the much cheaper in-state tuition fees in Florida , he told her to "stop the bullshit."

Here's the clip:

Then when asked why he took his name off the deed of his residence in Maine , LePage falsely claimed that "I [he] never had it on, never had it on, ever." - GOP strategist Brent Littlefield who is working for LePage's campaign later corrected LePage saying that LePage had in fact been on the deed of the Maine property at one time.

LePage's false claim was also caught on tape:

LePage has been a controversial candidate in Maine, for not only these latest tax shenanigans, but also for his ultra-conservative views on issues like the environment, where he supports opening up Maine's coastline to offshore oil and gas drilling despite warnings that such a move could destroy the State's multi-billion dollar tourism and fishing industry.

LePage has garnered the attention of the Tea Party with his support for bringing creationism to public schools, calling global warming a "scam" and claiming that Maine's Department of Environmental Protection "serves no purpose."

Despite the controversy the latest Rasmussen polling numbers for Maine find Lepage with an 18-point lead over Democratic candidate Libby Mitchell.

 

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Comments

[h2ovil]

01:48 AM on 09/29/2010

two other posts from Sept 28 Waterville Morning Sentinel referencing discrepancies in Paul LePages Accountability.

Paul LePage has lied from the very first day of his candidacy. He is "fudging" the age he was when he left home. And how he "left home." His foster father, Mr. Myrick, tells the story differently. He claims that he took Paul home and the family had moved, and that he took Paul in that day. Listen carefully to Paul LePage's tale of his childhood. He claims he left at 11, but then picks up when he was in high school. The real story of his life is compelling enough, but his pathology forces him to exaggerate -- or lie, if you will. Danger, danger, Will Robinson! The man is a habitual liar and in dire need of anger management.

September 28, 2010 at 2:14 AM Report abuse

Also:

Look, this really isn't rocket science to figure out the LePages transferred the property deed to the wife in order to circumvent Paul Lepage's child support obligations back in the 1990s. The homestead exemption on the Florida property was designed to get his kids into a Florida college at an in-state tuition rate. It's a requirement for lower tuition. That saved no less than $50,000...

http://www.onlinesentinel.com/opinion/letters/How-can-voters-trust-LePage-to-oversee-state-budget-.html

[jill trottier]

05:59 PM on 09/28/2010

One correction: In his press conference, LePage claimed "I [he] never had it on, never had it on, ever." This was in reference to his Waterville, Maine property, not the Florida residence as stated in the article. Other than that, the author is correct, his name was listed on the Waterville home before he placed it in his wife's name only.

[Kevin Grandia]

06:25 PM on 09/28/2010

Thanks for this correction, I have made the adjustment.

[Colin S Campbell]

03:10 PM on 09/28/2010

The DGA also has a video that they are running out of the Facebook page at http://www.Facebook.com/EnragedLePage

Paul LePage needs to stop getting angry when confronted with legitimate tax questions and start answering voters.

[Kevin Grandia]

03:52 PM on 09/28/2010

Politicians love to do this - try and spin away from a question, it's called "bridging" in that you bridge away from the tough question and get back to your key message. Unfortunately for LePage this isn't working because the questions are legitimate and he continues to add to the controversy by appearing to duck the question.

And what's this about him not paying property taxes in Maine? Yet to understand how cannot being paying property tax in the State he resides in. Anyone know the answer?

[h2ovil]

04:31 PM on 09/28/2010

Paul LePage doesn't pay Maine property taxes because he claims he has never owned any property in Maine, it all belongs to his wife. An online search of the Kennebec County Register of Deeds proves otherwise but here is that catch - when his ex wife in Canada tried to seize his assets for back child support for his forgotten daughters Lindsay and Lisa, he removed his name from the deeds to his Maine property to stop the ex from collecting.

Also, Paul LePage used to be CEO of a company called LePage and Kasevich which was a financial consulting firm. He is a pretty slick guy except for, ironically not knowing about his wifes tax evasion