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MSNBC's Tax Delinquents Lecture Audience on Taxes

April 22, 2015

MSNBC, the liberal network that advocates at every turn for a progressive revenue system, is home to four tax delinquents who have all lectured their audience about tax fairness over the years.

Rev. Al Sharpton, PoliticsNation host and civil rights activist, has more than $4.5 million in state and federal tax liens against him and his for-profit businesses, according to the New York Times. The IRS filed a $70,000 tax lien against MSNBC weekend host Melissa Harris-Perry and her husband earlier this month.

The Cycle co-host Touré and former The Reid Report host Joy Reid, still a contributor, are also in debt to the government. National Review reviewed public records and reported Touré owes more than $59,000, while Reid owes nearly $5,000. Representatives said their debts are in the process of being resolved.

Curiously, these folks have had plenty to say over the years about this subject and how the rich should take on greater revenue burdens. MSNBC's liberal lineup frequently calls for higher taxes on the wealthy and joined President Obama in railing against inversion by corporations.

In one of MSNBC's silly "Lean Forward" ads, Sharpton blasted Republicans for giving tax cuts and loopholes to the rich and acting "like it's acceptable," comparing their policies to Jim Crow laws. Sharpton also ripped Sen. Joni Ernst's (R., Iowa) response after the 2015 State of the Union address for "defending the top 1 percent not having to pay taxes."

When a guest of Harris-Perry on Feb. 21 spoke of his pride in paying taxes, she exclaimed, "It's the public good! Yes!"

Harris-Perry opined in an April 15, 2012, edition of her eponymous show that "taxes are how we all do our part" and a "Democratic spirit, the belief that we're all in together" carried her through the drudgery of tax season.

"We all want to believe that the tax math adds up to an equitable system, where everyone pays their due," she said, criticizing corporations that avoid taxes. "But that's part of the problem. Not everyone does seem to be paying their dues."

In the same monologue, she expressed frustration with people who avoid their civil responsibility.

"When I am poring over my paperwork, it doesn't make it any easier to know that my wealthy neighbor isn't taking responsibility," she said. "If they don't pay, why should I, right?"

Discussing the Buffett Rule in a 2013 show, Harris-Perry said with dead seriousness, "If we want the rich to pay more money, getting them to give out of charity instead of federal obligation might be our only option."

Touré has essentially stopped tweeting since drawing ire for an ill-advised one attributing someone's survival of the Holocaust to the "power of whiteness," but he did send this last year.

Hot Air's Noah Rothman flagged a tweet by Touré where he criticized conservatives who "complain about takers" in America's tax system.

National Review also noted he took a dig at Republicans who fight for tax decreases during an appearance on PoliticsNation in 2012.

"They're all afraid to vote for a modest tax increase of people who can totally afford it," he said.

As for Reid, she remarked in 2013 on Meet the Press that a return to "smart tax increases" would bolster economic growth. Reid was a press aide for Obama's 2008 campaign in Florida and has been a regular on MSNBC for years. She got her own show in February 2014, but it was cancelled a year later.