Voting Resources
Democratic Party Gubernatorial Nominee Bill White Caught Hiding Income
by TexasGOPVote on March 23, 2010 at 5:59 PM
The following press release was sent in from the Republican Party of Texas:
On Day 16 of his refusal to release his income tax returns, Democratic gubernatorial nominee Bill White is caught lying to the Texas Ethics Commission. Liberal trial lawyer Bill White failed to report more than $83,000 dollars in income from a real estate partnership to the TEC.
“This is no little White lie,” said Republican Party of Texas Chairman Cathie Adams. “This is a clear failure to comply with the very laws that White is campaigning to uphold as the state’s chief executive officer. The people of Texas deserve more transparency from Bill White, and they deserve leaders who will comply with the law.”
White’s spokesman, Katy Bacon, has confirmed that White received the income as reported on his 2009 income tax return. But there is no mention of this income anywhere on White’s filing with the Texas Ethics Commission.
That real estate partnership in question, Wedge Group, is already at the center of a controversy stemming from White’s tenure as mayor of Houston. For years, White has claimed that he received no income from Wedge Group while he was mayor of Houston, but his 2009 income tax return – the only income tax return he has released so far – shows $83,677 in income from Wedge during 2009 alone. White’s tenure began in January 2004 and ended in January 2010.
To date, White has only released his 2009 income tax return, and only after mounting pressure on him to do so. It is long past time for Bill White to match Gov. Rick Perry and disclose all of his income tax returns, so that Texans might learn what other undisclosed payments may be hidden within them.
The Wedge Group payment marks the second hidden compensation that White has received while mayor of Houston. The Houston Chronicle has also reported that White earned more than $2.6 million while serving on the board of BJ Services, a company currently under Congressional investigation for possible groundwater pollution.
The Texas Ethics Commission received the complaint March 23, 2010. White has 10 days to respond to it. The complaint and supporting documents are posted on the Republican Party of Texas web site, texasgop.org.
