Mosbys hit with lien for taxes
IRS places $45K claim against their property
The IRS has placed a $45,000 lien against the property of Nick and Marilyn Mosby — the Democratic nominee for Baltimore City Council president and the city’s top prosecutor, respectively — for three years worth of unpaid federal taxes, records show.
Notice of the lien seeking to collect unpaid taxes from 2014, 2015 and 2016 was filed in Baltimore Circuit Court in February. The Internal Revenue Service filing shows the couple owes nearly $23,000 for the 2014 tax year, more than $19,000 for 2015 and about $3,000 for 2016.
Nick Mosby said he had been in conversations with the IRS for five years and expected “to have the issue resolved in the coming days.” He said it related to
an early withdrawal from his retirement savings plan, which he said he did to “support unplanned expenses after a series of family tragedies.”
Marilyn Mosby said she was unaware of the lien and declined to discuss the matter further.
According to the IRS, a lien is the government’s legal claim against your property when you neglect or fail to pay a tax debt, and protects the government’s interest in all your property, including real estate, personal property and financial assets.
Baltimore tax attorney Juda Gabaie said the length of time the IRS takes to pursue what it is owed and file liens “really depends on many factors.”
“They try to give opportunities to taxpayers to try to get them resolved,” he said.
The court filing indicates that the IRS took steps to collect the debt before initiating the lien.
“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 the taxpayer,” the court filing said.
As state’s attorney, Marilyn Mosby earns about $242,000 a year. Nick Mosby earns $50,000 as a state delegate, and will make $119,000 as the City Council president if he wins next month’s general election. Mosby took office as state’s attorney in 2015, while Nick Mosby was a city councilman during the tax years in question. It’s not the first time the Mosbys have faced a tax lien. In 2013, a $5,000 state tax lien was placed on their property. Records show that lien was paid off within two months.
Marilyn Mosby, a Democrat, mounted her run for state’s attorney that year, which included $17,000 in personal loans.
She is currently under investigation — an investigation she says she initiated — by Baltimore’s Office of the Inspector General regarding three companies she created last year. In documents establishing the entities, Mosby wrote that Mahogany Elite Consulting would offer legal and consulting services; Mahogany Elite Travel would provide travel and hospitality services; and Mahogany Elite Enterprises LLC would function as a holding company.
Through a spokeswoman, Marilyn Mosby has said the companies exist in name only and that she formed them to eventually help underserved Black families vacation “throughout the world at discount prices.”
The Baltimore State’s Attorney’s Office denied a public records request by The Baltimore Sun seeking emails that mention her businesses and are stored on her government computer, arguing that they are exempt from disclosure because they are part of the investigation by the inspector general.
Mosby said she has done nothing wrong.
“I have always been transparent and fully disclosed all information in accordance with my ethical obligation,” Mosby wrote.
Nick Mosby served on the City Council from 2011 to 2016, representing West Baltimore. He ran for mayor in 2016 before dropping out of the race, then was appointed to a seat in the House of Delegates in 2017. He was elected to that position the next year.
As the Democratic nominee in a heavily Democratic city, Mosby is the favorite to be the next City Council president, though he still must defeat Republican nominee Jovani Patterson in the Nov. 3 election.
Patterson, who has less than $1,000 in his campaign bank account, said Baltimore deserves leaders who are examples of what it means to be an “upstanding citizen in the community."
“I hope they get it resolved,” Patterson said. “I strongly believe Baltimore does deserve better.”