Report: Democratic Convention’s Hosts Getting Tax-Free Gas
The committee hosting the Democratic National Convention this August in Denver has been taking advantage of tax-free gas through the city of Denver for the past four months, according to a report by the Rocky Mountain News.
The newspaper reports that, once the practice was made public, an aide to Mayor John Hickenlooper, a Democrat, issued a statement Tuesday saying that members of the committee would pay full market price for gasoline, including the 40 cents a gallon in state and federal taxes.
Committee members apparently have been allowed to fill up their tanks at city pumps. The city doesn’t pay taxes on its gasoline, prompting questions over whether the host committee would be exempt from the taxes as well when they reimburse the city for the gas.
Colorado Attorney General John Suthers said the practice “would seem” to be illegal, and he referred the matter to the state Department of Revenue, according to the Rocky Mountain News.
The Denver 2008 Convention Host Committee is a Colorado-based nonprofit organization formed to raise money to pay for the Democrats’ 2008 presidential convention from Aug. 25-28, according to the committee’s Web site. It also enlists volunteers, arranges for delegates’ accommodations and provides media credentials for the convention.
The city of Denver has a service contract with the host committee that is expected to generate about $466,000 in revenues for the city, according to the Rocky Mountain News.
“We’re a nonpartisan, nonprofit committee, but certainly, if the city feels that taxes are applicable, we will pay those, too,” Chris Lopez, spokesman for the host committee, told the newspaper. He added that the committee is using the city’s pumps “for safety and security reasons.”
Click here for more on the story from the Rocky Mountain News.
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