Reports that Gov. Matt Bevin failed to pay just over $9,000 in property taxes on his Louisville home are renewing calls for the chief executive to go public with his tax returns, but the governor isn't alone.
WDRB-TV reported this week that Bevin and his wife Glenna have yet to pay 2016 taxes owed on their Cherokee Gardens $700,000 home in Louisville, payments that were due on December 31st. The Jefferson County Sheriff's Office, which handles the billing, told the station that the Bevins currently owe just over $11,000, including late fees and penalties.
Rep. Rick Rand says the news should put pressure back on the governor to release his tax returns.
"He said he would. I mean we're not asking him to do something he hadn't committed to do throughout the campaign," the Bedford Democrat says. "As we go into tax reform knowing that he didn't pay his property taxes until it was printed in the paper, we even need to find out if he filed a state income tax. I assume he does."
The governor's office has yet to respond to requests for comment by WUKY and other news outlets. Then-gubernatorial candidate Bevin told WKYT-TV in October 2015 there was no need to release his returns.
"If it were required, I would do so. It's not required. It has never been required for people to do so," Bevin said. "It's a smokescreen."
Wednesday, the Courier-Journal reported Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer, a Democrat, was also late on his 2016 property taxes. Fischer reportedly paid his $25,219 property tax bill Wednesday, more than a month after the deadline.
The majority of local property tax revenue in Louisville goes to Jefferson County Public Schools.
Note: Story to be updated.
