SC House Member on "The List" Says He Paid His Taxes

News Channel 7 has found one member of the South Carolina House who's apparently on the list of legislators accused of not filing state tax returns or owing back taxes. But Rep. Leon Stavrinakis, D-Charleston, says he shouldn't be on that list because he's paid his taxes and filed his returns.

This story started Tuesday when Sen. Greg Ryberg, R-Aiken, said on the Senate floor he had been notified by the state Department of Revenue that 12 House members had not filed a tax return for at least one year from 1999 to 2007. Three others owe a total of $21,044 in back taxes, according to the Department of Revenue.

"South Carolina deserves and has a right to expect that their elected officials not only follow the law but stand above reproach in their financial dealings," he said. He didn't have the names of the House members because, by law, the Department of Revenue can't release personal information on tax returns.

So we started contacting all 123 members of the South Carolina House, either by email or by phone. So far, we've been able to reach 71. The Department of Revenue says it has contacted all 15 of the House members Sen. Ryberg was talking about, so we're asking House members whether they've been contacted by the department and whether they've filed returns and paid their taxes.

Rep. Stavrinakis says, "I just got a letter this week referring back to tax year 2006, and it's the first that they've ever notified me of anything. But I had already paid my taxes for 2006 and apparently the return either got lost at the agency or lost in the mail or something of that sort. But they can't put their hands on it and they're just asking me for a new copy of it. They acknowledge that my taxes are paid on both the federal and state level and my CPA tells me they're actually probably going to owe me a refund, so certainly nothing where I was trying to avoid any taxes. I paid my taxes on time and file my returns on time."

Adrienne Fairwell, spokeswoman for the Department of Revenue, says any taxpayer who doesn't file a return and is required to can be fined an amount that's based on gross income. "The failure-to-file penalty is 5 percent each month that the return is late," she says. "It can go up to 25 percent, but no more than 25 percent."

No one knows yet how many, if any, of the House members will face that penalty.

Rep. Stavrinakis says of Sen. Ryberg's announcement, "I'm not saying everybody involved in this is innocent. I don't know. But neither did he, is the point. But he went to the floor and called people tax cheats, many of whom, or even all of whom, may not be tax cheats."

Sen. Ryberg introduced three bills Tuesday that would prohibit anyone from running for public office or being appointed to a government position if they've failed to file an income tax return or owe back taxes.

We'll continue to contact House members to find out if they're on "the list" and, if so, why.