U.S. House candidates dogged by tax liens

WASHINGTON, July 23 (UPI) -- Charges of lax tax payment histories and liens by the Internal Revenue Service are being leveled in many U.S. Congress races, Politico reported Wednesday.

Politico, a Washington Web site, in an investigation of tax-related campaign charges in House races across the country, says troubles with the IRS are springing up with regularity. In one such case, it said that Pennsylvania Republican congressional candidate Chris Hackett has been targeted by tax authorities in New York and Pennsylvania who have filed nine liens against businesses he owns.

Also in the same boat is Illinois Republican Martin Ozinga, whom Politico says has faced bad publicity when newspapers and bloggers found records of late tax payments from his businesses in Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin.

U.S. Rep. Travis Childers, D-Miss., at first discounted campaign ads this year pointing out his failure to pay property taxes on time, then turned the situation to his advantage by saying he'd also been late on his mortgage, Politico said.

In another case, Minnesota Republican candidate Brian Davis paid tax penalties on his Rochester, Minn., home every year from 2003 to 2007, Olmsted County property records indicate.