Jim Renacci

Voters in this newly-configured Congressional district need only to hear about multi-millionaire Jim Renacci's efforts to shelter millions in income and avoid paying the taxes he owed to see the clear difference between the candidates in this race. While Cleveland broadcast television is the dominant medium, the Canton radio market is new territory for Sutton and is another fertile ground for communications in the closing weeks of the race.

Jim Renacci has proven over and over again that he's looking out for one person: Jim Renacci.  Renacci hid $14 million in income and tried to avoid paying $1.4 million in taxes and penalties he owed. The Ohio Tax Commissioner said he never saw anyone go as far as the Renaccis to avoid paying what they owed.

Renacci Tried to Avoid $1.4 Million in Taxes and Penalties.  In June 2006, the tax department assessed Renacci $1.4 million in back taxes, interest and penalties for misreporting his income in 2000.  Renacci and his wife, Tina, filed state tax returns that year that claimed they had a loss of $247,336, but auditors determined they actually made $13,730,440. The couple filed a tax appeal when the state dinged them for $954,650 in back taxes, $146,938 in interest and $293,876 in penalties.  The dispute stemmed from Renacci's trust income from an "S" corporation that was not subject to state taxes for several years before Ohio's tax commissioner issued a ruling that changed the state's policy. [Cleveland Plain Dealer, 4/26/10; Associated Press, 4/13/10]

“Renaccis Stand Almost Alone in Their Persistence” to Shelter S Corp Income. In October 2007, the tax Commissioner of Ohio filed a brief explaining their case and the decision to deny the Renacci appeal. In the brief, the Commissioner explains how the Ohio Supreme Court was hearing a relevant case at the time that made a decision in support of their decision to find against the Renaccis. The Court found that “income of a grantor trust comprised of shares of an S Corporation is taxed to the grantor(s) of the trust, rather than to the grantor trust itself.” “Unsurprisingly,” the brief claimed, “in light of the Ohio Supreme Court’s clear and unambiguous holding and support in Knust, the Renaccis stand almost alone in their persistence. Nearly all of the other litigants who had created grantor trusts in an attempt to shelter, i.e., exclude, their S corporation income from Ohio income taxation have “given up the ghost.” [Brief of Appellee, 07CA00061-M, 10/03/07]