The New York Times reported that Al Sharpton was behind on his taxes, and the amount owed was incredible. With personal federal tax liens of $3 million and an additional $777K in state tax liens, plus the $717K in federal and state tax liens against his “non-profit” organization, Sharpton is estimated to be looking at a grand total of $4.5 million in taxes owed.

Sharpton may be facing a new set of problems after the enactment of H.R. 22, otherwise known as the FAST Act. A White House Press Release described what the bill was meant to do:

H.R. 22, the “Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act (FAST Act),” which authorizes budgetary resources for surface transportation programs for FYs 2016-2020; reauthorizes taxes that support the Highway Trust Fund through September 30, 2022, and expenditures from that Fund through October 1, 2020; reauthorizes the Export-Import Bank through September 30, 2019; and improves the Federal permit review process for major infrastructure projects.

Though the bill deals mostly with funding issues for the Transportation Department, tucked in near the bottom of the text is the language:

In General.—If the Secretary receives certification by the Commissioner of Internal Revenue that an individual has a seriously delinquent tax debt, the Secretary shall transmit such certification to the Secretary of State for action with respect to denial, revocation, or limitation of a passport pursuant to section 32101 of the FAST Act.

What this means, is that anybody who has a seriously delinquent tax debt, described as $50,000 or more, and a lien against them, that American citizen may have their passport revoked, and their ability to move freely and legally from America to another country and vice versa will be taken away.

Sharpton’s tax woes, if accurate, are the exact type of situation described in the legislation, and because the bill has been signed into law, he may be at risk of losing his passport.

For many, the idea of Al Sharpton being denied the ability to travel abroad would be a welcome situation, especially considering all of the racial divisions and hatred that he has fomented in America.

Sharpton seems to approach any situation in which he appears with a sort of “us versus them” mentality.

For more than three decades, the former racial ambassador to the Obama White House has inserted himself into dozens of high-profile cases involving black victims, with seemingly the only results being the escalation of racial tensions in the nation.

One of the most infamous of these cases was a 1987 incident in which 15-year-old Tawana Brawley claimed to have been kidnapped and raped in the woods, for days, by three white men; one of whom she said was a police officer.

The story captivated the nation, and Al Sharpton was right there to handle Brawley’s publicity.

Sharpton made defamatory statements, alleging that New York State officials were trying to cover up the crime as well as claiming that an assistant district attorney was one of the rapists.

Brawley’s story quickly fell apart the further investigators dug into it, and Sharpton and his two cohorts were later successfully sued for defamation of character in a court of law.

Aside from the satisfaction gained at seeing restrictions placed on an extreme Leftist, who helped stoke the flames of hatred in America, the FAST Act is also raising concerns for those who work abroad.

Citizens working overseas who find themselves in financial hardships, unable to meet their tax requirements at home, may just wake up one day to find that their passport has been revoked, causing their situation to worsen exponentially.

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