Debt cleared after IRS put lien on his house Prince George’s County Executive candidate Henry C. Turner Jr. did not pay a quarter of a million dollars in taxes until the federal government put a lien on his home.
Turner owed the federal government $245,508 in unpaid income taxes for the tax period that ended Dec. 31, 2004, according to a copy of the Internal Revenue Service lien obtained by The Washington Examiner.
“We have made a demand for payment of this liability, but it remains unpaid,” the lien states.
Turner — who has centered part of his campaign on financial accountability — ultimately paid off his debt in December 2007, according to the IRS.
Turner told The Examiner that he failed to pay his income taxes because he fell behind on mortgage payments for his $1.1 million Upper Marlboro home on the 6000 block of Strathmore Way.
“I overextended paying bills on my business, and the mortgage on the house became late,” Turner said. “I had utilized equity in my company, and as the economy went south on development and building, it put me in a financial burden I had to fight my way out of.”
The executive candidate said he fell behind on his mortgage by roughly four months and eventually shut down his land development business, Turner & Associates.
But IRS spokesman Patrick Brown said a mortgage would have nothing to do with a federal tax lien.
“That’s definitely not right,” he said. “You get a tax lien for not reporting or not paying your income taxes.”
Turner said he solicited money from friends and family to pay the debt.
“The good Lord, family and friends helped me get back on the right track with payments,” he said.
A nonprofit Turner co-founded also ran into tax problems recently.
The Minority Building Industry Association was barred from conducting business in Maryland in 2009 for failing to report property tax returns in 2008, according to the State Department of Assessments and Taxation.
The association has held a number of events since then, including a “business networking reception” in April 2010 costing up to $45 a ticket.
Turner said he helped found the association to encourage more diversity in the development industry. He said he was unaware the business was terminated by MDAT, noting that he still receives advertising materials from the company.
Turner was named on a 2006 county lawsuit ordering the business to vacate its headquarters. He said he has had nothing to do with the company since the lawsuit was filed.
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