By Adam Pagnucco.
The Montgomery County Democratic Central Committee (MCDCC) released a statement tonight on its tax issue with the U.S. Internal Revenue Service. The issue was discussed in recent articles in the Baltimore Sun and MoCo360. The statement is reprinted below.
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MCDCC STATEMENT ON IRS TAX RESOLUTION
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: – August 25th, 2023
Contact: Saman Ahmad, Chair
Rockville, MD – On August 25, 2023, the Chair of the MCDCC released this statement to clarify inaccuracies that have been reported in the media regarding an IRS tax liability and the subsequent vote for resolution.
On June 1, 2023, the IRS delivered a notice to the MCDCC Office stating that there was an outstanding federal tax liability owed for tax periods 2017-2018 related to employee payroll withholding. The MCDCC spent a few weeks exercising due diligence in verifying the debt and attempting to determine how the deficiency occurred.
From 2017-2018, payroll processing was handled internally and the IRS filing for this tax period had been done by the Treasurer at that time. In 2019, the MCDCC retained a professional payroll processing company to manage such matters. In February 2020, MCDCC moved offices into its current space at 12320 Parklawn Drive. The IRS confirmed that notices were mailed in 2022 to MCDCC’s old office address in Kensington, after mail forwarding had expired.
The current leadership of the MCDCC assumed office on December 13, 2022 and was unaware of this debt until receiving the IRS notice. The Treasurer and Chair promptly informed the Executive Committee of the issue and retained legal counsel to assist with IRS negotiations.
On June 13, the Treasurer and Chair informed the full Committee of the issue, and the steps recommended by legal counsel in order for MCDCC to fulfill its legal obligations. Throughout the negotiations, the Treasurer and Chair have worked with legal counsel to ensure that all requested documentation was provided to the IRS.
On August 2, 2023, MCDCC hosted a fundraiser to raise funds to pay the IRS. The MCDCC settled the tax obligation in two installment payments. It authorized the first payment on August 8th in the amount of $8,427.27, and on August 25th authorized the second payment of $4,635.72 for a total of $13,062.99.
MCDCC is an organization consisting entirely of volunteers who donate their time to the Maryland Democratic Party without salary or stipend. I want to personally thank each member of the Central Committee who works tirelessly to support and promote the Democratic party in Montgomery County. We remain united in our mission to support and elect Democrats.