Don't Mess With Taxes

Dana Perino is Dubya's chief press officer. She also apparently was, until just recently, a property tax scofflaw.

The Sleuth, the Washington Post's blog that lurks in the back halls of Washington, D.C., political hot spots, reports that Perino's home in the southeastern portion of the National Capital had been scheduled to be "sold at public auction to the highest bidder" today.

However, The Sleuth says that Perino told the blog that the delinquent property tax bill has been paid in full and the press secretary doesn't have to worry about finding a new place for her stuff, at least until the White House changes hands in January.

When the District of Columbia's Office of Tax and Revenue published a list last month of residents who had not paid their property taxes and risked foreclosure, there was Perino's name. The overdue amount: $1,921.86.

Wow! When the hubby and I lived in D.C., the row house we rented was in the Southeast sector, just off Capitol Hill. That used to be a pricey area. So  judging from what rents, and presumably property taxes, were in that neighborhood back then, Perino's property tax levy must be:

• A partial bill,
• A bill for a really small house, or
• A clear indicator of just how big a hit D.C. home values have taken during the housing downturn.

Check out The Sleuth for the rest of the story on how the tax bill was overlooked (Hint: It was someone else's fault. Isn't it always?) and some other juicy unpaid tax tidbits.