Lawyer: Rangel didn't report rental income

WASHINGTON, Sept. 5 (UPI) -- A lawyer for U.S. Rep. Charles B. Rangel, D-N.Y., alleges the congressman hasn't paid taxes on money earned from a rental property he owns.

Attorney Lanny Davis said that the House Ways and Means Committee chairman has been renting a beachfront villa he owns in the Dominican Republic since 1988, earning more than $75,000 that he hasn't reported in his tax returns, The New York Times said Friday.

Yet Davis said the congressman intends to rectify the tax situation by filing amendments to his earlier returns and paying off any necessary back taxes stemming from the rental income, the Times said.

A statement from Rangel didn't confirm the lawyer's claim but did identify there was a problem concerning the rental property at the Punta Cana Yacht Club.

"I have asked my accountant to review all the data recently made available to me by the Punta Cana Hotel in the Dominican Republic concerning my investment 20 or so years ago in purchasing a unit in that hotel for occasional use over the years," Rangel said.

Davis told the Times the missing taxes were a result of a simple financial oversight on the part of Rangel and not an intentional act.