Washington State Auditor Troy Kelley’s trial enters its fourth week Monday. As prosecutors continue to mount their case, a behind-the-scenes fight has emerged over Kelley’s payment of taxes to the state of Washington and whether that’s relevant to this federal case.
Prosecutors want to show that Kelley failed to pay state Business and Occupation taxes on more than $3 million in homeowner fees. Kelley has said that’s money he earned while operating a real estate services business in the 2000s. The government says Kelley illegally pocketed that money.
Prosecutors want to call an official from the Washington state Department of Revenue to testify about what taxes Kelley’s company did or did not pay. Kelley’s defense team wants to exclude that testimony and any evidence relating to state taxes.
In a motion to the court, the defense says: “the government has failed to identify a scintilla of competent evidence to prove what state taxes, if any” Kelley’s company should have paid.
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