Rep. Omar submitted a joint tax return before marrying her husband

Rep. Omar submitted a joint tax return before marrying her husband


MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - Minnesota's campaign finance official said last week that Democratic US Congressman Ilhan Omar violated state regulations to abuse campaign funds. They also revealed that she had filed a joint tax return with her husband for many years before she legally married and when she married another man.

This revelation has led to a new censorship of critics who question the past of her marriage. A tax expert said that she is unlikely to face any criminal consequences if she has no criminal intent and the problem has been corrected.

Some questions and answers about tax issues:

Question: What did Omar do wrong?

A: The Minnesota Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Committee said on Thursday that Omar and her husband Ahmed Abdisalan Hirsi filed a joint tax return between 2014 and 2015 - before they actually got married, and Omar was legally Another man is married. While some states allow joint application for “common law” marriages, Minnesota does not, and submits joint tax returns against federal and state laws with people who are not your legal spouse.

Q: How is this public?

A: Last year, a Republican state representative accused Omar of abusing campaign funds and accused her of using her $2,250 campaign fund to pay her lawyer's fees for divorce proceedings. The campaign finance committee conducted an investigation and found that she did not use the funds to pay for the divorce lawyer, but found other violations. The final report of the board of directors stated that “there is a problem with her tax return that needs to be corrected” and some campaign funds flow to the accounting firm.

State officials last week ruled that Omar must reimburse his campaign committee for nearly $3,500, including $1,500, to pay accounting firms the fees for joint tax return-related services for 2014 and 2015. Omar must also pay the state a fine of $500.

Q: What does Omar have to say about this?

A: Very few. In response to questions from the Associated Press, her campaign team sent an e-mailed statement saying: "All Rep. Omar's tax returns are in full compliance with all applicable tax laws." The event did not allow Omar to attend an interview or answer. The specific problem of the AP. In response to the entire campaign financial investigation, she said in a statement last week that she would abide by the state board's findings and ask her to repay the money and pay the fine.

Q: Is Omar facing criticism on other issues?

A: During the brief period of Congress, Omar has been blunt about the US policy toward Israel and the Middle East. As one of the two former Muslim women in Congress, she faces a more rigorous review. She is accused of publishing anti-Semitic remarks. In response to some of her comments, the House of Representatives passed a resolution condemning hate speech against all groups. Omar denied any anti-Semitic intentions but apologized for the comments in February.

She was also troubled by conservatives who questioned her past. She came to the United States as a refugee from war-torn Somalia. In 2016, as Omar campaigned for a seat in the Minnesota House of Representatives, the conservative blogger said she was married to both men. Marriage records show that this is not the case. The conservatives also claimed that one of the men, Ahmed Nur Said Elmi, was her brother, Omar called it a "disgusting lie."

According to the marriage record, Omar applied for a license in 2002 and married her current husband Ahmed Abdisalan Hirsi, who at the time called her Ahmad Abd Saran Aden. Without a marriage certificate, Omar said that they did not pursue a civil marriage, but instead married in the Muslim faith tradition. Omar and Hirsi have two children but ended their relationship in 2008.

According to the marriage certificate, Omar married Hermi, who is known as a British citizen, in 2009. Omar said that the relationship ended in 2011, the two divorced in their faith tradition, but Omar did not take legal action to divorce him until 2017. The divorce record said that Omar and Hirsi reunited in June 2012 and had a third child. Omar legally married Hirsi in early 2018, which was the final decision after she left Elmi for a month.

Q: Did Omar get some benefits through the joint application?

A: It's hard to say. In most cases, co-submission of applications can reduce the taxation of married couples. However, Eric Johnson, a lawyer practicing tax law in St. Paul, Minnesota, said that this is not always the case, and filing a petition may actually increase the tax bill for some people.

So far, Omar has kept its tax return confidential. Although she has asked President Donald Trump to issue a tax return, her campaign did not recognize the Associated Press’s request for the release of her tax return. Before Omar married Hirsi in 2018, her campaign did not answer questions about whether there were problems with other tax returns.

Q: Is Omar now having problems with the US Internal Revenue Service?

A: It is not clear at the moment. The US Internal Revenue Service stated that federal privacy laws prohibit it from making comments.

Jeff West Goodson, executive director of the Minnesota Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Committee, said that if the board had the right to submit a question to the county prosecutor when the problem was discovered, then there was no referral in this case. Sigurdson said the board did not consider the legitimacy of the joint tax return, but “whether the committee funds were used appropriately to obtain a copy of them”. Sigurdson said the board has never seen a problematic return.

Tax lawyer Johnson said that if a taxpayer mistakenly filed a tax return as a "married application" without a legal marriage, unless the taxpayer has a strong intention to defraud their tax, or unless they provide the tax directly, Usually not a criminal case. False factual information.

"If the IRS finds an error, they will send the result tax bill to the taxpayer," Johnson said. “If taxpayers find mistakes... modify their returns and pay taxes, there is usually no further consequences.”

Q: Does the public know what happened?

A: Probably not, unless Omar decides to talk about it. Taxpayer information is protected by federal law. Johnson said that the IRS cannot disclose the status of anyone's tax issues, nor can it directly publish information about Omar's tax situation.