The IRS has a $50,406.93 tax lien against the Hartford home of Democratic Sen. John Fonfara, chairman of the legislature’s finance, revenue and bonding committee which handles state tax policy.
The IRS filed a notice of tax lien in October 2011 with the Hartford City Clerk for unpaid personal income taxes in 2008 and 2009. No release of the lien was filed with the clerk as of Tuesday.
Fonfara’s spokesman did not respond to repeated requests for comment.
According to the IRS, tax liens remain in effect until the entire amount is paid off. If a person has made progress paying down their tax debt but hasn’t paid the full amount, there would be no change to the lien. Conversely, if a person has not made any payments, the amount owed could grow because of interest and penalties.
The lien on Fonfara’s 99 Montowese St. home breaks down the amount owed between the two years. The unpaid balance for 2008 was about $8,600. In 2009, the unpaid balance was a little less than $42,000.
The IRS took out an earlier lien against Fonfara at his 23 Fenwick St. address in 1997 for about $16,500. The lien was released within a month.
In addition to his salary as a state senator, Fonfara works in the billboard business.
Update: View the liens here, now with certain identifying information redacted.