RECORDS: $100K UNREPORTED ON GÓMEZ’S TAXES OVER LAST 3 YEARS

San Diego City Council President and congressional candidate Georgette Gómez reported no salary on her federal tax filing in 2017 despite earning more than $90,000 from her job on the council, according to her personal return.

The discrepancy is one of several errors or omissions noted by The San Diego Union-Tribune during a review of the councilwoman’s tax f ilings for 2017, 2018 and 2019 compared to other publicly available information.

In 2018, for example, Gómez reported she earned $90,386, before expenses, to the IRS. However, in the financial disclosures she is required to file with Congress as a candidate for federal off ice, she reported an earned income of $112,630 — $22,244 above what she disclosed on her tax return. Added to the income Gómez failed to report in 2017, over the last three

years the councilwoman underreported more than $100,000 in income to the IRS.

Gómez, who is facing fellow Democrat Sara Jacobs in the November runoff for the 53rd District congressional seat, through a spokeswoman blamed the errors on her tax preparer and pledged to amend at least one of her returns.

“We are about to release an amended return for 2017,” campaign spokeswoman Dayanara Ramirez said in an email Thursday.

Gomez was first elected to City Council in 2016. She was elected council president by her colleagues two years later. She is not running for re-election to the council.

She collected several endorsements from national progressive Democratic leaders, such as Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass. and Rep. Alexandria OcasioCortez, D-N.Y., as well as the state and county Democratic parties. However, the latest polling in the district shows Gómez trails Jacobs by double digits.

Gómez released her returns Sept. 17 and challenged Jacobs, granddaughter of billionaire Qualcomm co-founder Irwin Jacobs, to do the same. Jacobs released her returns Saturday.

Jacobs’ returns show most of the candidate’s income comes from capital gains. Her adjusted gross income was $4 million in 2017, $2.1 million in 2018 and in 2019 she grossed $7.2 million. Along with millions in income came millions in taxes — she paid more than $3.2 million in federal income tax over those three years, her returns show.

Gómez’s returns show she reported $59,840 in income in 2017, including $56,778 in early retirement account disbursements but no regular wages even though she earned a salary for her full-time job on the City Council. The same year, Gómez was paid $75,386 in salary by the city and an additional $17,351, according to Transparent California, an online database of public salaries.

She also claimed an educational tax credit of $2,500 for being a student at the International College of Holistic Health. The credit, called the American Opportunity Credit, is only available to students in their first four years of post-secondary education who earn less than $100,000 per year and attend at least half-time.

Gómez, a graduate of San Diego State University who made more than $100,000 in 2017, did not qualify for the credit, Ramirez, the campaign spokeswoman, said in response to questions about the return. Even if she had qualified, she apparently got the name of her college wrong. The International College of Holistic Health is in Singapore.

There is an “International College of Holistic Studies” in San Diego, however, the employer identification number Gómez listed on her return doesn’t match either institution.

Gómez said in a statement that she was shocked to find out her returns were filed incorrectly.

“Like most people, I trusted my accountant to file my taxes accurately and I was shocked to find out that my 2017 returns were not properly filed,” Gómez said. “My accountant has taken responsibility for the errors in my 2017 tax return and is currently working to file an amended return.”

Two tax attorneys who reviewed Gómez’s returns told the Union-Tribune that a number of items raised red f lags or did not make sense.

“Several items on her 2017 tax return seem strange,” said Ariel Jurow Kleiman, a University of San Diego law professor who specializes in tax policy.

Alexandra Eaker Pérez, a San Diego-based tax attorney, also noted issues with Gomez’s IRS filings.

“Income from whatever source derived must be reported annually to the IRS and unless specifically exempt from taxation by Congress, is includable in a taxpayer’s gross income for purposes of computing their income tax,” Eaker Pérez wrote in an email.

Also, for all three years, Gómez claimed income and business expenses for her role as a “public transportation consultant.” According to her campaign, this related to her positions on the boards of the Metropolitan Transit System and the San Diego Association of Governments.

Over the three years of records, Gómez reported $43,000 in income and claimed $18,984 in expenses from her consulting work on the boards, lowering her total taxable income. The dollar amount reported in 2018 to the IRS from this work also does not match what she reported to Congress in her financial disclosure.

In 2018, she reported $16,500 — before expenses — in wages from her work on MTS and SANDAG to the IRS. After expenses, she reported $12,974 in income. However, her financial disclosures to Congress say she received a $2,700 stipend from SANDAG and compensation of $16,500 from MTS for a total of $19,200 — $2,700 more than she reported on her taxes.

The campaign did not offer any explanation when asked about those discrepancies.

Gómez also was able to lower her total taxable income in 2019 by taking a $5,914 tax break under the self-employed health insurance deduction.

However, according to the IRS, taxpayers are not eligible to claim this deduction in any month during which they are eligible for a subsidized plan from an employer. Councilmembers, as city employees, are eligible for health insurance through their job.

Ramirez said that because Gómez received two IRS form 1099s from her positions on both the MTS board and SANDAG, she was eligible for this deduction.

Morgan Hill, a spokeswoman for the Jacobs campaign, said the issue of Gómez’s tax returns showed negligence.

“The Gómez campaign spent weeks misleading voters and crying wolf about Sara’s tax returns, only to have the real story be their candidate’s own negligence,” Hill wrote in an email.

“With 26 days until Election Day, now would be a good time for the Gómez campaign to get their own house in order,” she added. “Voters are looking for leaders they can trust, and leaders who are concerned with addressing the mounting crisis we face, not half baked political stunts.”