STATE FINGERS ROLLIE AS #1 TAX DEADBEAT

special for the readers of milwaukeeworld

By Michael Horne

[Update: 12 January 2007 -- Rollie Fingers has posted a response on his blog to this website's mention about his tax status. He headlined the item, "Breaking News: Milwaukee Brewers confirm that state taxes were withheld from all of Rollie Fingers (sic) paychecks."
This apparently proves something, according to Fingers, who says "The Brewers went through the archeives (sic) and found that every paycheck issued to Rollie Fingers while he was a member of the Brewers had state income taxes withheld."
So what? Did Rollie also have taxes withheld from his non-Brewer income? That might be an issue for a guy who spent months of his life signing balls and baseball cards at fairs and events. That money counts as income, too.
Fingers goes on to complain that he can not "get through to anyone at the State Franchise Board in Wisconsin," perhaps because it does not exist. If we pretend that he means the Department of Revenue, then he asks of them: "I wonder what they have to say about this lastest (sic) fact. I mean how does anyone owe 3 times the amount of state tax in any one year than they actually made the whole year."
Any accountants out there care to field that one? It's quite easy, Rollie, you dingbat: It is called interest and penalties!
Rollie goes on, " I would say that those in charge are in more s..t than a Wisconsin cow walks through in a year. As has been said many times before "let the truth be told" so now Wisconsin its (sic) your turn."
I contacted Meredith Helgerson of the Department of Revenue to see if she would be willing to take her turn to reply to Mr. Fingers' post. As I like to say, this Fingers story has legs!
--Michael Horne]

[Update: 3 January 2007 -- This story, and its backstory, are heating up. WKOW-TV in Madison made this its top story last evening, borrowing liberally from the posting below, including the San Francisco bits. Also today, Jim Rome, "The most respected voice in sports broadcasting," gave the story a mention to the 2 million listeners nationwide who hear his show over 185 stations, including Milwaukee's WSSP-AM 1250, where his show airs weekdays from 11 a.m. - 2 p.m. Finally, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel ran an AP item at 11:58 a.m., saying "the debt was first reported by WKOW-TV in Madison on Tuesday night." Dear reader, you know better, as does the Associated Press, which has issued a corrected version. (The Journal Sentinel issued a corrected version at 3:33 p.m.) Jeff Wagner, said all along on WTMJ-AM that the story indeed originated here. Thanks, Jeff, for appreciating original reporting, and giving it proper credit.-- Ed.]

Rollie Fingers, the former Milwaukee Brewers relief pitcher and baseball Hall of Famer, also holds the distinction of owing more income tax to the State of Wisconsin than any other individual, according to the Department of Revenue website.
Fingers' $1,433,609 tax deficiency also puts him in the top ten of all delinquent taxpayers in the state for all types, including income, sales, corporate and other taxes.
This is particularly interesting since it does not appear that Fingers has been employed in this state since 1985, at least not in the capacity of professional baseball player, according to the National Baseball Hall of Fame website. A list of the Tax Warrants against Fingers can be found here. Are you interested in hiring Fingers as a speaker at your next event? This firm can round him up for you. The fee -- between $5,001 and $10,000 per appearance (before taxes, you can be sure!)

ROLLIE'S NEW "CAREER"
On December 20th, 2006, an ad on the San Francisco Craig's List was placed looking for "a twelve or thirteen-year old boy" to appear with "Baseball Hall of Famer Rollie Fingers" in a "humorous video to be shown on You Tube and other places." In the proposed "hilarious" short (2 minutes) feature, Fingers, a low handicap golfer, will lose to -- get this -- the kid, who has been able to master the intricacies of putting thanks to a remarkable new invention that Fingers endorses!
On November 11th, 2006, Fingers signed a letter of intent to become the spokesperson for Sure Putting, the golf aid that is the subject of the proposed video, so there you go, Department of Revenue -- a source of income for you to attach. The money is sure to roll in provided somebody buys the product, whatever it is.
But why am I telling you all of this? Feel free to log in to the rolliefingerssportsblog.com and chat with the great man himself. Yes, Rollie Fingers has his own boring blog, and his next scheduled posting is set for December 27th.

About the Department of Revenue Wisconsin Delinquent Taxpayer website: The site was launched on January 3rd, 2006 and lists names and addresses of those taxpayers who owe the state $25,000 or more. There are some exceptions to the list, including for those who have entered into a payment plan with the state, or who are in bankruptcy proceedings. It was expected that the website would help to raise some $1 million per year in delinquent taxes. It surpassed that estimate by raising over $15 million in its first year of operation, according to a story in today's Appleton Post-Crescent. The list is updated quarterly; the next report is due in January. Let's see how much Roland Glen Fingers of 10675 Fairfield Avenue, Las Vegas Nevada 89123 will be able to whittle off his account once his magic putter pulls in some green.