Thursday, August 05, 2010

Wyclef's Platform

Wyclef Jean has announced his political platform and, because no good deed goes unpunished, some tax lien information against Wyclef leaked, too. 

Wyclef tells People
"(My platform) has four pillars: education, job creation, instilling security into the culture, and, how do we get our agriculture back?"

And Jean is hoping to prove his qualifications if he wins the race, adding: "Automatically, when people first see me they’re going to say, ‘Isn’t that the guy from the Fugees?' But I'm hoping that next they'll say, 'Okay. He knows what he’s talking about.'"

And from The Smoking Gun
Wyclef Jean, who appears ready to announce his candidacy for Haiti’s presidency, owes the Internal Revenue Service more than $2.1 million, according to federal tax liens filed against the musician, The Smoking Gun has learned.

In May, the IRS filed a $724,332 tax lien against Jean. Last July, the agency filed a $599,167 lien against the performer. And a $792,269 lien was lodged against Jean in July 2007. The liens cover taxes due on Jean’s individual 1040 returns for 2006, 2007 and 2008.

In 1998, Jean--whose given name is Nel Wyclef Jean--purchased a $1.85 million home at 8 Cameron Road in Saddle River, where he lives with his wife Claudinette and their family. The three IRS liens were filed against Nel W. Jean at the Cameron Road address.

Other records show that Jean, 37, has previously been the subject of two smaller tax liens filed against him by the State of New Jersey and the New York State Tax Commission, both of which were eventually satisfied.