Heaton goes on the attack, supports KDP ad targeting incumbent Floyd
DICK HEATON
By JIM BROOKS
Nelson County Gazette
Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2012, 5 p.m. — Dick Heaton, the Democratic nominee for 50th District state representative, defended the claims made in a Kentucky Democratic Party (KDP) radio ad that said a company once owned by state Rep. David Floyd has a delinquent 2008 tax bill.
During an appearance Tuesday morning on WBRT’s “Brooks & Company” program, Heaton said he disagreed with the radio station’s decision Monday to stop airing the KDP ad that accused Floyd of not paying all of his Kentucky taxes.
On Monday, Floyd’s law firm, Fulton, Hubbard & Hubbard, issued cease-and-desist letters to local radio stations, calling the ad defamatory and damaging to Floyd’s reputation and business. The law firm said the claims were “wholly unsupported and clearly manufactured with a malicious disregard for the truth.”
According to a statement by WBRT managing partner Roth Stratton, “WBRT was advised that the original content of the KY Democratic Party commercial related to the Dick Heaton versus David Floyd campaign may have put the radio station in a position of legal exposure. We made decision to pull the commercial and ask for a revised commercial based soley upon that advice by the law firm that works on behalf of the Kentucky Broadcasters Association.”
A revised version of the commercial began airing Tuesday.
“The owners and operators of WBRT will not be influenced by any political party or candidate and its decisions are based upon fact, law, and the opinion of trusted legal counsel. To imply that it can be influenced is a questioning of our integrity and absolutely false and malicious,” Stratton stated.
According to the Kentucky Secretary of State’s records, Bullitt Elder Care LLC was organized in 2003. The company was dissolved in 2008. The dissolution filing notes the company’s assets were sold as of March 31, 2008.
DAVID FLOYD
Heaton said the company’s dissolution didn’t eliminate the tax obligation.
“It’s been unpaid since 2008 and is still getting interest and penalties added to it,” he said. “They may be hiding behind the bankruptcy they took on that company back in that same time period, but its a delinquent tax bill. There it is and its irrefutable.”
In a statement, Floyd said he wasn’t personally liable for any remaining tax obligations of Bullitt Elder Care LLC. “We provided more than enough funds to satisfy all obligations, including the tax,” Floyd said, noting that “the entity that controlled the company elected not to pay it.”
The company’s business was “wound up” and all obligations, according to law, were satisfied, he said. “There was no infraction here, nothing that requires settling from me or any member of the company,” he said.
HEATON: FLOYD AVOIDING KY TAXES. Heaton also echoed the KDP ad statements critical of Floyd for setting up a limited liability company in Wyoming.
“Why would a sitting Kentucky state representative domicile a company in Wyoming that’s based on Maywood Drive in Bardstown?” Heaton asked, adding that he and his wife own out-of-state property but manage it through a Kentucky-based limited liability company (LLC).
“Wyoming bills themselves as a tax haven,” Heaton said, adding that he felt it was understandable why the state Democratic party targeted Floyd’s Wyoming company since it appears the move was to avoid paying taxes.
Floyd said the KDP’s claim that his company, Davex LLC, was created so he could avoid paying Kentucky taxes was totally false — and that was one reason local radio stations withdrew the ad on Monday.
Limited liability corporations (LLCs) are considered “pass-through” entities for tax purposes, Floyd explained. The income generated by an LLC must be declared in the state where the owner or owners reside. In the case of Floyd’s Wyoming LLC, its income must be declared on his Kentucky state taxes. Floyd said he has shown WBRT managing partner Roth Stratton proof his tax obligations for Davex LLC were properly declared.
Using Google Earth, the Wyoming property, located 3605 W. Michael Dr. in Teton Village, Wyoming, appears to be a development area of apartments buildings or condominiums.
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