DULUTH -- State Sen. Satveer Chaudhary on Friday responded to a News Tribune article about his unpaid income taxes by posting a message on his Web site saying he and his wife are working closely with the IRS to make good on the more than $250,000 owed to the federal government.
The Fridley DFLer also wrote that the News Tribune "should have held their story until they had all the facts," reiterating an assertion he made in the Thursday news story that his family's tax problems resulted from his wife's employment issues.
"After nearly two years of hostile gender and age discrimination, wrongful termination of my wife forced the exercise of stock options resulting in past and present tax liability," he wrote. "Dee (Chaudhary's wife) has been the model of courage, but I'm concerned that more public innuendo and smears will further traumatize her."
Chaudhary did not deny on his Web site that he owes the IRS the amount and that the agency has taken out a federal tax lien against him and his wife for unpaid taxes from 2007 and 2008. In the Thursday story, he said the tax problems arose from his wife's employment issues in late 2009 but said he did not know why the IRS was listing unpaid taxes from 2007 and 2008. He said he would speak to his accountant to get more information but did not call the News Tribune again, and did not respond to a request for comment on this story.
In an interview with Chaudhary aired Friday night, reporter Bob McNaney of KSTP-TV in the Twin Cities said the senator "could only speculate as to who leaked the tax information to the Duluth News Tribune."
ADVERTISEMENT
The newspaper reviews tax liens against St. Louis County property owners as a matter of course.
Chaudhary owns a home on Fish Lake and was the subject of a May 23 News Tribune story for pushing through last-minute legislation specific to the lake. Two days later, Gov. Tim Pawlenty vetoed the bill, citing the maneuver as a contributing factor.
Chaudhary apologized to constituents and Fish Lake residents for the flap, which led to a decision by his DFL district to strip him of his party endorsement and back his primary challenger.
The chairman of that district, William Krueger, said he was shocked to learn about the unpaid taxes, and didn't believe Chaudhary's explanation.
"I think if people had known about this, he would have gotten even fewer votes," Krueger said.
Chaudhary has filed an appeal on the DFL district's vote to strip him of his endorsement.
"After the last month of media attention," Chaudhary told KSTP, "I'm starting to wonder if it would be faster if they just shot me."
The News Tribune and the Herald are owned by Forum Communications Co.
