ATLANTA — Democratic candidate for governor, Roy Barnes, is hammering away at Republican candidate Nathan Deal's tax returns in a new round of political ads.
Democrats are asking how Deal made $205,000 one year but paid only one percent in federal income tax.
Channel 2's Lori Geary took the numbers to John Michael Miller, a certified public accountant.
"He may have set up a nice tax shelter for himself but I can't explain it in full without all the schedules that go with it," said Miller.
According to Deal's returns, in 2006 he had an adjusted gross income of almost $190,000 but paid just over $5,000 in federal income taxes.
The next year Deal had income over $200,000 but paid just over $2,000 to the federal government.
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Miller told Geary that Deal had huge losses but because the returns don't paint an entire picture he can't say for sure what happened.
"He had a $233,000 business loss according to his 2006 returns but I don't have the schedules and I don't have the company returns so I'm not sure what happened," said Miller.
Miller also pointed out that Deal has some huge tax deductions in relation to his income.
"He made $144,000 in wages; his itemized reductions are $109,000. Does he have an $800,000 house or did he give $50,000 in contributions? Most people don't normally have that much in deductions," Miller told Geary.
Channel 2 Political analyst Matt Towery thinks Deal's returns are skimpy but it doesn't resonate with voters.
"As much as I think these tax returns are not full disclosure in my opinion, they're also not of any interest to the public," Towery said.
Deal's campaign told Geary their candidate did not release his business tax returns because his business partners are not public figures and are not running for political office.
Previous Stories: September 10, 2010: POLITIFACT: Barnes' Claim Of 10,000 New Jobs 'Half True' September 7, 2010: Barnes Fills Platform With Teacher-Friendly Ideas September 2, 2010: Poll Shows Obama Won't Help Barnes In Race September 1, 2010: Barnes Says Ethics Disqualify Deal As Gov. August 19, 2010: Poll Shows Deal With Narrow Lead Over Barnes
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