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Franken's Corp. Faces Unpaid Corporate Taxes In CA

ST. PAUL (AP) ― Democratic Senate candidate Al Franken's personal corporation didn't file corporate income tax returns in California from 2003 to 2007.
  
A spokesman for the California Franchise Tax Board said the corporation, Alan Franken Inc., owes a minimum of $800 per year as well as penalties and interest to the state of California.
  
John Barrett, spokesman for the Franchise Tax Board, said in order to stop filing corporate income tax returns that Franken's corporation needed to officially dissolve itself in the state of California. He said that was never done.
  
Franken's corporation is now considered forfeited by the state of California. A campaign spokeswoman said Franken was operating under the advice of an accountant who believed that when the corporation stopped doing business in California that no further filing was required.
  
Campaign spokeswoman Jess McIntosh said the corporation didn't get notifications that tax returns had not been filed. Barrett said notices should have been sent out.
  
The campaign has said Franken, a former comedian and writer, established his corporation to receive payment for speeches and TV and movie royalties.
  
The corporation's forfeited status was brought to light by Minnesota Democrats Exposed, a blog critical of Franken; and publicized by the Minnesota Republican Party.
  
Franken previously paid a $25,000 fine to the state of New York after learning the same corporation was out of compliance with that state's workers compensation laws.


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