For Biden Family, a History of Tax Problems

Hunter Biden hit with $450,000 tax lien last month, the latest in a series of tax problems for Biden family members

Hunter Biden was hit with a $450,000 lien in July over delinquent state income taxes, which he paid off in six days despite having no discernible income. Last year, he told the court judge in his paternity case that he was broke and unemployed.

The younger Biden owed $238,562.76 in state income taxes from 2017 and $215,328.16 in state income taxes from 2018, according to records from the District of Columbia’s Office of Tax and Revenue. The District of Columbia filed a $453,890 lien against him on July 9.

The lien is the latest in a series of substantial tax problems members of the Biden family have faced over the years, from Joe's brother James’s six-figure tax debt in 2015 to multiple liens filed against Joe's sister Valerie and her husband. It also raises new questions about Hunter Biden’s finances, which have been scrutinized during the election cycle. The lien follows controversy over Hunter's high-paying consulting work for companies in Ukraine and China, and a high-profile child support case in which the younger Biden claimed he was in "significant debt" and refused to turn over court-ordered financial records.

A spokesman for D.C.'s Office of the Chief Financial Officer confirmed that Hunter Biden’s lien was released on July 15 after the "tax issue was resolved." The office declined to say whether Biden had paid off the debt.

Harvey Bezozi, a tax expert who specializes in large-scale tax debt negotiations, said the only way to get a lien released is to pay the settlement in full—often through a payment plan, penalty abatement, or other compromise with the government—or to prove the lien was filed in error. He said liens can take months or years to resolve.

"It drags on," he said. "Six days had to be some kind of expeditious kind of process for this."

Bezozi said the government rarely files liens in error. "Generally the lien filing process is a very stringent and reviewed approach because it’s a serious thing when you file a lien. It’s public record," he said.

The Biden campaign did not respond to questions about how Hunter Biden settled the debt in less than a week and whether he has found gainful employment.

The Biden family has been hit with several tax liens over the past few decades.

James Biden has had at least five tax liens filed against him between 1995 and 2015, including one for $589,095 filed in 2015 and released one year later. Frank Biden, another brother of the presidential candidate, has had at least three liens for unpaid income taxes. He said in 2011 that a $32,500 lien in Kentucky stemmed from his struggle with alcohol addiction and was being paid off through a monthly plan, according to the Broward Palm Beach New Times. Joe Biden’s sister Valerie and her husband John Owens have faced at least five tax liens, including one for...

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