EXCLUSIVE: Dan Maes’ Tax Records Released
Leah Hotchkiss | Jul 19, 2010 | Comments 43 | Share: More
Dan Maes
For Immediate Release
The Friends of Dan Maes for Governor Campaign has released the income tax records of the Maes family to The Constitutionalist Today.
Tax filings are rather dry on the whole, and these are no exception. Straightforward and completely average would be the appropriate adjectives to use. A conservative, small business owner’s tax filings are typically never as glamorous as the filings of a career politician with six-figure incomes, anonymous donations, and outlandish expenditures on mundane commodities
For the years 2000–2004 the Maes’ averaged $89,000 per year in income. Maes donated an average of 4.75% of his income per year to the First Baptist Church of Evergreen, Evergreen Christian Outreach, and Goodwill.
In 2005, Maes left his job with Advantage Credit Reporting and started his own small business. Like most small business owners, the first year of income was low, and tax returns reflect that. Listed as a credit services business, the Maes filed personal income at $19,202 for 2005, $20,340 for 2006, and $51,678 for 2007; business gross income at $39,130 for 2005, $182,230 for 2006, and $309,815 for 2007. In 2008 the mortgage industry imploded, and with 97% of Amaesing Credit Solutions clients being mortgage brokers, the business took a big hit. There is a steep decline in 2008 to $11,000, which is to be expected. Charitable donations for 2005 to 2008 were not itemized. All business filings were prepared by H&R Block Enterprises Inc. of Evergreen. A copy of the paperwork for 2009 has been requested from the IRS because the refund amount was adjusted, and this request is on file with The Constitutionalist Today.
So what is to be dug out from these pages of tax information? Not much; if you were not careful, you might mistake these pages for your own. We hope this answers any questions that may have been asked.
A publication written by "We the People," The Constitutionalist Today is comprised of articles from a range of writers, journalists, and bloggers. As such, the opinions herein may not reflect the opinions of our staff, management, or editorial board.
Filed Under: Centennial State
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Thanks for the information TCT! It’s very cool that you got this exclusive.
To start Amaesing Credit Solutions, Maes got a small business loan for $12,500 from a bank in Ohio. He claims he sold the buiness in 2007 but yet, it appears it went out of business. Which is the truth? Where are the financial records of his “mileage” reimbursement?
So where are the actual records? An independent review would help this man’s candidacy.
Right now, we have two foundering candidates, and Hickenlooper (Colorado’s Obama) is running under the radar, making a bee line for the Governor’s mansion. God help us.
Something does not seem right. If these records are as mundane as reported, why would Maes campain have taken so long to release them and ruined much of the Maes’ credibility?
Either there is more to the story, or Maes and his campain are very poor decision makers which leads one to really question the validity of this candidate?
It is too bad as the other candidates are poor choices with lots of baggage and Maes could have shined brightly in comparisson, if Dan or his campain would have not fallen victim to “Politics as Usual”
With all respect, Ken, Dan has never held public office, and as such, it’s silly to make the case that he is the captive courtesan of one of the state’s plutocrats. By contrast, it can be fairly alleged that Jane Norton is owned by Anschutz interests — she made $120,000 a year managing a charitable foundation with less than $500,000 in gross receipts. Ditto McInnis, being on the Hasan family’s payroll.
I would have preferred that Dan had adopted a policy of profligate disclosure — a candidate ought to be candid — but I’m not inclined to second-guess him at this point. The Tea Party movement is a revolution against “business as usual,” including having our betters like Phil Anschutz, Pete Coors, Mark Hillman, and Dick Wadhams decide who our candidates will be in smoke-filled rooms. Dan was the only man who had the cojones to stand up to them (Josh “I never run from a fight” Penry fled in terror); that alone makes him deserving of our support.
I am not implying that Dan is like any of those other candidates accepting money for bogus work. What I am concerned about is that Dan or his campaign staffers by taking so long to be “candid” have lost so much credibility that it will be hard to overcome. I have been a supporter of Dan for quite some time and for the 1st time ever donated to a campaign. But Dan has failed to shine above his competition in releasing his tax records so late and then in the manner that he did. Can you blame people from being cynical?
The more I thought about it, the more I agree that full disclosure is essential and especially, given what actually has been disclosed. Dan put his track record into play when he boasted of his business and managerial experience, and like any good personnel managers, we have to check out his resume. Furthermore, it speaks to his veracity, and character matters.
So can you post copies of the returns on your website or are they posted elsewhere? Sorry, but I’m an eternal skeptic who isn’t willing to take the word of one reporter on the veracity of Maes’ tax returns.
and so WHY did it take months to finally come out with this and so many weasel-like political statements like “my wife won’t let me release it”, etc.?????
Airbus,
You are wrong on the loan amount, wrong on the 2007 sale, and wrong on going out of business. I offered to meet with you recently and you have not responded. What is your motive here? Let’s get some detail right.
@Dan…
Then why not prove it. These transposed numbers mean nothing without the rest of the story. You haven’t released didly. If I can’t see your records, then your records are not released.
Where did you mention in the article, that you the writer of the article, are the same one that nominated Dan Maes, according the the Peter Boyles KHOW show? Conflict of interest? Politics as usual?
So sad. Numbers are numbers. I really don’t think that TCT (which happens to be the best publication in Colorado) would give phony numbers. Maybe he didn’t want to expose his family or anything else.
I feel sorry for Dan and his family. People are so rude and we are all republicans here. I wouldn’t want my taxes all over the media.
I was a Scott McInnis supporter, but when he didn’t come to debates I changed to Dan. Now I’m even happier I did. I just graduated from college and believe me, if I would have done what Scott did, I wouldn’t be able to hold my head up!
GO DAN, you have my support and all my friends’ as well.
@Denise– Yes, I’m the publisher. Yes, I’m the person who seconded Dan’s nomination and NO, for the first time in my life, this is NOT politics as usual.
Leah Hotchkiss, one of our staff writers was put on this feature. Not me. Again, I’m the publisher.
Dan is your average, everyday American. He’s a conservative. I am honored to personally support him as well as my family. We were honored that Dan and his family gave us the opportunity to release his tax returns. We simply cannot make up numbers provided by the IRS.
Please contact me personally if you should have any further questions. My info is in the “Who we are” tab at the top.
Can we see the actual records in pdf? I’m a Maes supporter, but full disclosure makes it easier to make a case against McInnis (not that it’s all that hard to do that, given the events of the past week). “So, what else are you hiding, Scott?” becomes an easier sell, and significant investment income refutes the contention that Dan was using campaign funds to live off.
Dan Maes. He got his $300,000 the old-fashioned way. He EARNED it.
We listed all the numbers EXACTLY as they appear on the IRS tax forms. We are not allowed to transcribe the numbers to sway one way or another. They are the actual numbers. They are boring, really they are.
Unfortunately, it is not clear as to whether those are gross, adjusted gross, or taxable income numbers. We need to be able to compare apples to apples, and the best number for comparison is the adjusted gross income figure on the bottom of page 1 of the 1040.
@LANA…PROVE IT. Sorry, this sucks. If I can’t see it, it is not released. I don’t care if you are santa clause. A public release of records means the public has access to the records, not your transposition thereof. GIVE ME A BREAK!
Oh, and for the three McInnis supporters left out there, that’s not plaigarism — it’s parody.
It is a mistake to get caught up in the minutia. Politics are like watching a magic act…your eyes are distracted while the real damage is being done. Dan Maes is no magician, he’s real…a Statesman. We’ve got to stop believing the lies of the politicians and see through the smoke screen. The Republican back room boys are trying to minimize Dan Maes because they have learned that he will not be controlled by the party’s front organization. The conservative media is complicit with the party machine. Thank God for The Constitutionalist Today! Guess what, they would like to minimize this fresh voice of the people too. I see two statesmen who appear to be listening to the people…Dan Maes and Ken Buck. It’s no longer about party loyalty. This fall, the old party machines must fall. We must elect the men and women who are representing the people and fighting to save our constitutional republic. Dan Maes has my vote. We cannot afford to get caught up by the lies of the politicians and the lame stream media. Ask yourself these questions: Are you going to choose our elected officials or are you going to let the party insiders and talking heads decide for you? Are you going to believe the lies of the career politicians or are you going to elect a true statesman. For a contrast between a Statesman and a politician, see the front page of my website.
The crow looks in the mirror and sees an eagle…
This info completely undermines the Maes stump speech…‘successful businessman’ and ‘turnaround specialist’. Net $ to owner from $11K to $52K annually. Dan made more paying himself with donations while campaigning. Colorado is an $18 BILLION economy & deserves better than Maes.
Kylee, So do you plan to vote for the bar owner that has botched it in Denver and will follow in the footsteps of his spendthrift mentors Ritter & Obama or are you going for the self-righteous attorney and career politician? I’m going for the guy that seems to really care about the people and has some integrity. Your allegation about paying himself is utter bunk and made out of complete ignorance of the truth. You are buying into the lies of those who can’t come up with anything legitimate to bring Maes down so they have to make it up. Before you go spreading propaganda, you should go talk to the man face to face like I have.
Are you reading the same thing I did, Kylee? I’m confused. Dan in his first year owning a business did $39,130 for the first year, $182,230 for the second, and $309,815 for the third. His personal income is what a true business owner does…“tighten his belt” for the sake of his company. WOW! Dan quadrupled his company in the fist year…and then doubled the 2nd. Read it again, maybe you were reading something else.
As a small businessman myself, and struggling through the devastation of the economic meltdown, I identify with Dan better than most. I am still in business, but it is extremely difficult. This disclosure is a plus, almost everyone who works for or runs a small business will understand and sympathize. I think it makes Dan much more attractive as a candidate who truly understands the issues caused by massive government debt and bailouts for everyone ELSE.
How much did Dan make from 200‑2004? It says the Maes’ averaged $89,000 per year. I assume that’s his wife and him but since you didn’t list his individual income I would assume his wife made more of that income than Dan himself. How much of that was his wife’s income? Also, is he going to release his taxes to the Denver Post as well?
He has released his tax returns to TCT, not the Denver Post. They were sent a press release along with over 20 different newsources.
His wife, Karen Maes, was and is a stay-at-home mom. This is the occupation she has listed with the IRS.
@Lana…he may have released his records to TCT, but what about the rest of us?
This is the sucessful executive, with managerial skills and business acumen? He’s got to be kidding. If he turns this state around the way he’s done his own business, we’ll be as well off as Haiti afer four years of a Maes administration. McInnis may have faked some articles, it looks like Maes faked a whole career.
Business gross income means nothing — what was the net (taxable) income of his businss?
So much for full disclosure…
It is incredibly frustrating that CO has fielded such a weak slate of Republican candidates.
We’ll waste momentum and squander our golden opportunity to take offices back, unlike the rest of the country. With all that is going on within our country right now this prospect makes me physically sick.
I’m not convinced. Didn’t Maes also claim to have worked on someone’s campaign, but that person disavows all knowledge?
So we’ve got a cipher vs an establishment plagiarizer as I stare at my primary ballot.
I’m punching for Ken Buck and leaving the governor choice blank.
Tancredo for Governor!
One thing I can say about Dan that I can’t say about anyone else, at least he understands that by giving the exclusive to TCT, he enabled the NEW MEDIA. Show me another gubernatorial candidate that gets it that well.
Folks, the time for hero worship politics is long past.
I look at a candidate like I look at a salesman: The answer is no until you convince me otherwise. I know too much about Scott McInnis and too little of Dan May.
This is the downside of a dark horse, “up from the grassroots” candidate. No record, no vetting, no trials by fire.
Politics is bloodsport, and you don’t put up a guy for Governor who has no experience in the political arena.
I have no doubt he’s a wonderful man, but he should have started a little lower down the ladder.
Financial services guy busts out on his own, tanks badly, seeks a government bailout, er, job.
Lawyer-lobbyist rips off Muslim foundation for a 1⁄3 million dollar fee, blames an old man, declares it all a “non-issue.”
Where did these guys come from? Can we close THAT border?
Any chance Tancredo can run? I don’t think he can win but at least it would be a much more entertaining race, he brings some developed ideas, and he has the rhetorical chops to make Hick nervous.
Vote for Hickenlooper then. Take up arms in the circular firing squad.
The fact is Maes is the guy. You can help him or Hickenlooper. You can look at his taxes and see what I do, that when the geniuses in the Republican party let the let the Community Reinvestment Act stand as designed; when they did not undo the policies put in place and supported by Barney Frank they were complicit in the economic disaster that was the result and that caused Maes’ business to take a dive just like mine. Or, you can see a failed businessman. It’s up to you.
My business when from grossing nearly a million dollars a year and employing 9 people to grossing about $200,000 and employing 2 people. That’s exactly what I see in his tax records and in neither case was the cause of this massive deflation the fault of the owners of the businesses.
But, what has the Republican party been able to do lately but lose a presidential election to a two-bit political hack from Chicago, lose the state house and senate, lose the U.S. House delegation and the two US Senate seats. Damn, competence just freaking abounds, doesn’t it?
Now, the petulent failed children of the Republican Party are willing to lose everything because they are too snobbish to get down on the street level and help those doing the hard work. They stand with their arms folded across their chests, with their protruding lower lips shaking their collective heads: “We will not help those Tea Party people!”
Fine, reap the rewards.
Ditto Tim. Any busness person who didn’t take a serious hit in the last couple years is a liar. Dan’s business decline is just a reflection of our entire economy; not his honesty and integrity. The Republican party is at a crossroads today. They still support McInnis in hopes he can win the primary and then they can talk him into falling on his sword (yea right)so they can bring in Hillman. T.Ps and Independents will see right through that as “more of the same” politics as the Democrats have given us. As an Independant, if McInnis is the face of the Republican party; they have not only lost my vote but probably the votes of most T.P.‘s and Independants. It’s either support Maes or face having a Democrat Governor.
This controversy distills to a simple question of honesty: Has Dan over-inflated his resume to the point where it constitutes hyperbole? As I see it, poor and incomplete presentation of his tax information has engendered suspicion — and once the media senses blood in the water, they are like a pack of velociraptors in a room full of wiener-dogs (and yes, I stole that one from the UberPope of the FCOS, Rep. McInnis).
Barack Obama has shown us just what can happen when a person with no managerial experience to speak of is placed in the center seat. If Dan has inflated his qualifications, he will have a hard time out-“businessmanning” an obviously successful businessman like Mayor Hick.
My Republican comrades, get ready to lose both the Governor’s office and the Senate race. It’s gonna be one bummer of a Tuesday…
Don’t be so defeatist!
Time is running out, but there is still time.
Governor looks shaky, but polling for the senate race looks good regardless of whether Norton or Buck win.
I am glad that Dan Maes has a better attitude, lots of tenacity and more faith in himself and the people of Colorado than the commenters on this thread. I know of no one in this race that is better qualified than Dan Maes. Having been a lawyer, lobbyist or legislator does not equate to management experience. I’m sick of the rhetoric. Give me an honest guy that has some business sense and the integrity to do the right thing. We haven’t had a Governor in Colorado during my lifetime that hasn’t made some major blunders. We need a Statesman in the worst way. I know of only one Statesman in this race and that is Dan Maes.
At this point, it is hard for anyone to ooze any lower than Scott McInnis, That having been said, this raises a fair question as to Dan’s honesty, business sense, and propensity for doing the right thing. Dan needs to lay all of his cards on the table, because the cards he has played don’t suggest that he has an inside straight.
As a matter of full disclosure, I am a Maes supporter, and am pulling for him to do the right thing.
Well said, Mr. Dodd! We’ve gotten so far away from what the Founders intended that it is unrecognizable. The way the Republican party “anointed” Scott McInnis last year, by-passing and ignoring the voice of the people is EXACTLY why we’ve seen the explosion in the grass roots liberty groups who understand all too well that we’ve allowed our government to be hijacked.
Dan Maes IS a citizen statesman. He’ll bring his lifetime of experience and integrity to a much needed governor’s office and state government. To all the naysayers, just ask yourself this. If the people who followed the process and voted at the State Assembly (for their choice of candidate on the primary ballot) can just be ignored, then why bother with the charade of elections in our nation at all?
The progressives are doing a pretty good job at that now.
This wasn’t my first State Assembly, but this is the first time that so much ‘dirt’ has come out after we were able to choose our candidates. The income figures engender objectively fair questions concerning Dan’s acumen, experience, and integrity — which may have had something to do with the poor way they were presented. I tried my best to get to Dan before this blew up, to no avail. But that is water under the bridge right now, as the damage has been done.
My question to you is, would you have voted for Dan, Scott, Tom Tancredo, Marc Holtzman, Josh Penry, or someone else, if you knew what you know now? I will absolutely be voting for Dan in the primary; I might even vote for Fidel Castro over Scott, on grounds of integrity alone. And if Dan had crafted a sales pitch that didn’t depend on his being Meg Whitman in drag, I would be a lot happier about that vote (and much more optimistic about the outcome) than I am now.
Our candidates have to be candid; when you attempt to hide something, the natural assumption is that it would not benefit you for me to know. This is why, when you are implicated in a scandal, it is best that you man up. Scott demonstrated how not to do it.