The state of Ohio is going after a tax hiking Democratic candidate for unpaid business taxes, according to court documents. The state in March filed a tax lien against Greg Landsman, a Cincinnati councilman and Democratic candidate for a competitive House race, ordering him to pay interest on unpaid taxes he owes through his firm Landsman & Associates. But while Landsman struggles with tax delinquency, he voted over a four-year span on the Cincinnati City Council to raise taxes and fees at least eight times—even as he acknowledged that Ohio families were “struggling” with taxes.
The state taxes are not the only debt Landsman owes the government. His business in 2020 received a $16,647 Paycheck Protection Program loan that has actually not been paid or forgiven. The company is owned completely by Landsman and noted only one staff member on its loan application. The loan went completely to payroll, according to data provided by the Small Business Administration.
Landsman helped pass seven tax and fee hikes in June 2018 alone, although he acknowledged at the time that “the average homeowner is really struggling with their property taxes.” The city councilman voted 5 months earlier to trek real estate tax for city homeowners, pointing out the city’s multimillion-dollar budget plan deficiencies. Landsman’s Republican coworkers cautioned versus the tax walking, which generated $7 million for the city.
“We can’t ask working-class families to keep footing the bill. They can’t afford it,” Councilman Jeff Pastor (R.) told the Cincinnati Enquirer.
Dan Lusheck, a representative for the Ohio GOP, stated Landsman’s monetary impropriety would make him an ideal fit with Democrats in Washington, D.C.
“Greg Landsman, who has proven incapable of managing his own finances, would only perpetuate the economic disaster caused by Nancy Pelosi and Joe Biden’s inability to govern,” Lusheck told the Washington Free Beacon.
As Democrats face an undesirable midterm election cycle, Landsman’s history of left-wing propositions could be a liability for his project to win Ohio’s First Congressional District. After national Democrats tapped the city councilman in 2021 to challenge Rep. Steve Chabot (R.), Landsman has actually faced criticism over his proposals to eliminate cash bail and defund the city’s police department spending plan in the wake of George Floyd’s death. The Democrat’s propositions came in the middle of a rise of violent criminal offense in the city.
The tax lien against Landsman & Associates is for $656 with a rate of interest of 3 percent. Landsman’s campaign did not respond to media requests for comment.
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee noted Ohio’s First Congressional District as a leading target in the midterms. Landsman, who ran uncontested in the state’s May main election, will take on versus Chabot in November.
H/T The Washington Free Beacon
