Last week's article profiled how the governor and his wife regularly ignore parking, licensing and even the petty cellphone ordinances, which he signed into law himself.  The federal tax lien placed by the IRS onto governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's property, a story first broke by Harvey Levin's gossip site TMZ , has been getting a lot of attention since then. Schwarzenegger's spokesmen brushes it off, but some questions remain unanswered.

The PDF file of the lien notice provided by TMZ, which incidentally has the governor's name spelled incorrectly, ("schwarzeneggar.pdf") has the "kind of tax" column marked with 6721. Internal Revenue Code Sec. 6721 is defined as "Failure to file correct information returns".

There are two leins, one for the period ending 12/31/04 for $39,047.20. The date of assessment was 10/08/07. The 2nd lien is for the tax period ending 12/31/05 for $40,016.80. The date of assessment was 8/4/08

The lien has a Notice of Federal Tax Lien Number 20090688224 and was signed on April 30, 2009 by R.A. Mitchell, whose title is listed as "territory manager". The form, obtained through the Los Angeles County Recorder's Office, states

• "As provided by section 6321, 6322, and 6323 of the Internal revenue Code, we are giving a notice that taxes (including interest and penalties) have been assessed against the following-named taxpayer. We have made a demand for payment of this liability, but it remains unpaid. Therefore, there is a lien in favor of the United States on all property and rights to property belonging to this taxpayer for the amount of these taxes, and additional penalties, interest, and costs that may accrue."

The IRS, who convicted exactly 666 people of alleged 'tax crimes' last year,   has a page on leins and states that they don't place a lien until after sending a demand for payment. They go on to explain that ones credit may be harmed once a lien is filed:
 

• Notice of Federal Tax Lien
• Liens give us a legal claim to your property as security or payment for your tax debt. A Notice of Federal Tax Lien may be filed only after:
• We assess the liability;
• We send you a Notice and Demand for Payment - a bill that tells you how much you owe in taxes; and
• You neglect or refuse to fully pay the debt within 10 days after we notify you about it.
• Once these requirements are met, a lien is created for the amount of your tax debt. By filing notice of this lien, your creditors are publicly notified that we have a claim against all your property, including property you acquire after the lien is filed. This notice is used by courts to establish priority in certain situations, such as bankruptcy proceedings or sales of real estate.
•  
• The lien attaches to all your property (such as your house or car) and to all your rights to property (such as your accounts receivable, if you are a business).
•  
• Caution!
• Once a lien is filed, your credit rating may be harmed. You may not be able to get a loan to buy a house or a car, get a new credit card, or sign a lease. Therefore it is important that you work to resolve your tax liability as quickly as possible, before lien filing becomes necessary.

Financial records unrelated to the tax lien are also available on the governor. Schwarzenegger is listed in public campaign finance records as having an active committe titled SCHWARZENEGGER AND AFFILIATED ENTITY, OAK PRODUCTIONS, INC. (FILER ID# 493008) .

The data also reveals some interesting information; SCHWARZENEGGER AND AFFILIATED ENTITY, OAK PRODUCTIONS, INC spent $990,753.64 in the period of Jan 1 2008 to June 30, 2008. What did they spend nearly a million dollars on, you may ask?
The "payee" was CALIFORNIANS FOR SCHWARZENEGGER - 2006 GOVERNOR. The payment date was 06/24/2008. The amount was $990,753.64 .

 
How someone could legitimately donate almost a million dollars to themself in 2008 for a 2006 governor's race, is perhaps something that only political insiders can understand. I'll leave it to you to draw you own conclusions.

The public webpage outlining Schwarzenegger and Oak Productions finance data goes also includes the following info:
 

• "This committee has not electronically filed a Form 460/461/450 for this election cycle. For further information, click on prior year displays to see if historical filings are available. Also check for late contribution filings if a major filing deadline has not yet occurred for this election cycle.
•  
• HISTORICAL NAMES FOR THIS COMMITTEE
  
• SCHWARZENEGGER, ARNOLD (INCLUDES UNITED OAK, INC.)
• SCHWARZENEGGER, ARNOLD
• FILER PHONE:
  
• (310) 396-5917
• CURRENT STATUS ACTIVE
  
• LAST REPORT DATE THIS SESSION 07/31/2008

IIn yet additional unrelated public records, Schwarzenegger's name is listed on the records of four corporations, all of which have been either suspended or dissolved. One of the four is listed as follows:
 

• Corporation
• ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER PRODUCTIONS, INC.
• Number: C0885114 Date Filed: 3/9/1979 Status: suspended
• Jurisdiction: California
• Address
• 321 HAMPTON DR RM 203
• VENICE, CA 90291
• Agent for Service of Process
• ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER
• 321 HAMPTON DR #203
• VENICE, CA 90291

On the Secretary of State campaign finance page for Schwarzenegger, 
a group called 'SCHWARZENEGGER'S CALIFORNIA DREAM TEAM, A BALLOT MEASURE COMMITTEE GOVERNOR (FILER ID# 1261406)' lists $5,174,469.22 under TOTAL EXPENDITURES from 1/1/2009 - 06/30/2009.  Their FILER PHONE is listed as (818) 238-9500 .

A reverse search on that number reveals that it is owned by:

• Company: Californians For Schwarzenegger 2006
• 1901 W Magnolia Blvd
• Burbank, CA 91506-1727

A search of that Magnolia street address lists it as being the location of one of the "victory offices" for McCain General Election Campaign Organization, California .

Meanwhile, the website schwarzenegger.com appears unmaintained, has
© 2007 Oak Productions, Inc. at the bottom of the page, and lists a few stories posted from April of 2009.

A public search of Oak Productions, Inc.  reveals the following data: 

• 3110 Main St Ste 300
• Santa Monica CA 90405-5354
• Theatrical Producers/Services
• 310 396 5917.

An article entitled Concessions Are for Girlie Men- Arnold Schwarzenegger's absurdly advantageous contract for Terminator 3 By Edward Jay Epstein which ran Monday, May 9, 2005, in slate.com made reference to Oak Productions, Inc.: 
 

• "Finally, Schwarzenegger had the contract structured to give him every possible tax advantage. All the money was to be paid not to Schwarzenegger but to Oak Productions Inc., a corporate front he controlled. Oak Productions, in return, "lends" Schwarzenegger's services to the production. Since Schwarzenegger didn't get any money personally from the movie itself, he had more flexibility managing his exposure to taxes. For example, Oak Productions entered into a complex tax-reimbursement scheme with the production to help avoid additional tax liabilities that might occur abroad. (Click here to read the tax rider: 
• How Arnold Schwarzenegger Deals With Tax Exposure.) In return, Schwarzenegger agreed to make himself available for 18 weeks of principal photography, one week (on a nonexclusive basis) for rehearsals—if any were required—and five days for reshooting. In addition, he had to make himself available for at least 10 days, seven of them abroad, for promotional activities in connection with the initial theatrical release of the movie. This media work included everything from television and radio appearances to appearances at premieres and Internet chat rooms." 

Related:

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