Cornel West, a leftist academic and advocate for wealth redistribution through higher taxation of the affluent, is currently under scrutiny for his personal tax practices.
The 70-year-old scholar, who is the presumptive nominee for the Green Party in the upcoming presidential election, reportedly owes over half a million dollars in back taxes to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
According to The Daily Beast, documents filed in Mercer County, New Jersey, where West is said to own a property in the university town of Princeton, reveal a total of $543,778.78 in outstanding federal tax liens against him. The median home sale price in Princeton is $1,404,750, indicating a significant personal wealth.
The liberal news outlet further noted that West's unpaid taxes in almost every recorded year exceeded the median American household income. The figures include $85,477.02 in 2017, $136,916.26 in 2016, $82,396.14 in 2015, and $98,818.25 in 2014, among others. As the IRS has not filed a release for any of these liens, it is unclear whether West has settled these debts or if they remain unpaid.
West, a Harvard graduate, also has a history of unpaid taxes dating back to before 2005. He reportedly accumulated $724,397.26 in unpaid taxes over a six-year period ending in 2004, which he paid off in 2010, according to The Daily Beast.
Furthermore, West's tax issues extend beyond New Jersey. IRS documents submitted in California reveal that between 2011 and 2012, West accrued over $159,000 in unpaid taxes, which he appears to have settled on June 14, 2023.
West did not dispute these findings, as reported by The Daily Beast, but he did reject a secondary claim that he had defaulted on a $49,500 child support judgment against him from 2003. It remains unclear which of West's children this judgment pertains to, as he has been married five times and has undergone four divorces.
Following the exposure of his tax practices, West defended himself in an interview with Lenard McKelvey of "The Breakfast Club." He stated, "any time you shine a flashlight under somebodys clothes, youre gonna find all kind of mess, because that's what it is to be human," adding, "They want to use it as a distraction."
West argued that the focus on his tax issues was a diversion from the societal "suffering" he aims to alleviate, in part, through taxation. In a June 9 interview with Semafor, West stated, "How does one go about engaging in massive, downward redistribution of wealth downward? Weve got to have massive cutbacks to the military. Weve got to have taxes that are higher, much higher."
If elected, West's proposed policies, including Medicare for all, housing for all, free college tuition, jobs with living wages for all, and the revival of the Green New Deal, would likely necessitate higher taxes and individuals paying their fair share.
A recent Emerson College poll suggested that West's inclusion on the ballot could impact the support for both Biden and Trump, with Biden's support decreasing from 48% to 44% and Trump's from 41% to 39%. West, the tax-averse socialist, would gain five points in this scenario.
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