Well, isn’t this embarrassing: MSNBC talk show host Melissa Harris-Perry evidently owes $70,000 taxes – an amount she told the Winston-Salem Journal that she and her husband are in the process of paying off.
But that assurance has done little to quiet some of Harris-Perry’s critics, including Jim Treacher at the Daily Caller , who basically responded to Melissa’s excuse with a sarcastic “boo-hoo.”
“Most people don’t go on national TV every week and strenuously advocate more and more big-government policies that are funded with … Oh, what are those things called? Taxes.”
Melissa blamed the overdue amount on a series of “personal crises” that prevented her and her husband, James Perry, from paying back the owed amount with as much haste as the Internal Revenue Service generally requires.
“You know who else has personal crises? Everybody. And yet, most people can get it together to pay their taxes on time,” Treacher wrote.
Not only does Harris-Perry have a popular MSNBC talk show – a platform she recently used to chastise Americans for how they spend money in other countries – but she’s also a professor in Wake Forest University’s Department of Politics and International Affairs. One would think a TV host would have the wherewithal to pay Uncle Sam his due.
One would apparently be wrong, if the figures released by the media are accurate – most of the debt is still pending payment.
The IRS placed a tax lien on Harris-Perry – a move the host was not aware of. But Melissa did know about the debt and has assured that part has been paid off — about $21,721. This was taken care of when Melissa filed her taxes Wednesday , added Fox 8 . The rest of the taxes owed – now $48,581 total – cover a period ending Dec. 31, 2013, the Journal reported.
Again, the Daily Caller shows little forgiveness for Harris-Perry’s tax woes. Perhaps that’s because the host has frequently been forced to apologize for some of her on-air flubs — like the time she picked on Mitt Romney’s grandkid , or mispronounced the Marine Corps motto.
“Utopia ain’t just gonna pay for itself, lady. Stop crying, stop being so greedy, and open up your checkbook.”
Not paying your taxes is bound to get attention — and there’s little forgiveness available for celebrities.
[Photo Courtesy YouTube Screengrab]
