The North Carolina governor’s race heats up as details about Republican candidate Mark Robinson’s previous financial difficulties and tax neglect emerge, contrasting sharply with his political speeches. Reports show that Robinson, who won the GOP primary, did not submit federal income taxes for five straight years beginning in 1998, causing concern among voters and experts.
Robinson, North Carolina’s first Black lieutenant governor, has openly discussed some financial challenges, including bankruptcies and nonpayment of debts. However, the details of his financial history, as highlighted in bankruptcy documents, reveal a situation far more dire than previously known. In his 2022 autobiography “We Are The Majority,” Robinson wrote that his wife decided to open a daycare center in 2000 and that “by God’s grace, it became extremely successful.” Robinson was “blessed to start, run, and sell a successful small business with his wife,” according to the lieutenant governor’s office website.
According to the records, Robinson and his wife faced economic hardships leading them to seek Chapter 13 bankruptcy protection in 2003, a scenario painted by the presence of $1 million in debts and a mere $70 to their name.
In the past, he has described welfare programs as a “pandering ploy” by the Democratic Party and emphasized personal responsibility. Yet, documents from the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Middle District of North Carolina tell a different story — one where Robinson and his family were in financial turmoil and reliant on the bankruptcy system.
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS), at one point, moved the court to compel Robinson to furnish tax returns for the years he failed to file, stating, “Due to Mr. Robinson’s failure to file federal individual income tax returns for those years, the Internal Revenue Service is unable to file an accurate proof of claim and to determine whether he is remaining current with respect to unpaid taxes.” Robinson ultimately filed his back taxes in May 2003, but later that year, the bankruptcy protection was lost due to noncompliance with the plan’s requirements.
Amidst these revelations, Robinson’s campaign has dismissed the surfacing of his financial history as “old news recycled by the Democrats and their allies in the press to distract the voters.” The campaign argues that Robinson’s previous challenges resonate with the difficulties of North Carolina families, presenting him as a personable figure rather than a “career politician.”
Democratic strategists hope that Donald Trump’s enthusiastic endorsement of Robinson will harm his chances in the 2024 presidential race and provide President Joe Biden with an edge in North Carolina. He has received backing from significant figures, such as former President Donald Trump, who lauded Robinson as “Martin Luther King on steroids.”
Relevant articles:
– Bankruptcy documents detail how GOP NC governor nominee Mark Robinson failed to file federal income taxes for 5 years
– NC GOP gubernatorial candidate ‘failed to file income taxes’ for 5 years: bankruptcy records, AlterNet, Thu, 11 Apr 2024 13:03:38 GMT