The dispute with the IRS, Stephen Moore said, stems from an alimony and child support payment he made to his ex-wife. | Getty Images FINANCE & TAX Trump's Fed pick owes more than $75,000 in taxes, IRS says

Stephen Moore, President Donald Trump’s controversial pick for a Federal Reserve seat, has a $75,000 tax problem.

The IRS entered a federal tax lien on Jan. 29, 2018, for an unpaid balance of $75,328.80 for taxable year 2014, according to court records in Montgomery County, Md., where Moore has a home.


Moore, a conservative tax policy specialist who worked on Trump's tax plan during the 2016 presidential campaign, disputed the IRS claim.

“The IRS owes us money; we don’t owe them money -- we had a $50,000 overpayment on our taxes,” he said, adding, “this has been like the audit from hell, we can’t get them to close this.”

The dispute, he said, stems from an alimony and child support payment he made to his ex-wife. Alimony is tax deductible for divorces finalized before 2019. In deducting his alimony payments, Moore said, he erroneously claimed a deduction for child support payments, which are not deductible.

POLITICO Playbook newsletter Sign up today to receive the #1-rated newsletter in politics Email Sign Up By signing up you agree to receive email newsletters or alerts from POLITICO. You can unsubscribe at any time. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

In response, according to Moore, the IRS struck out his full alimony deduction and added the figure to his tax burden, instead of just striking the child support deduction.

All told, he said, his accountant believes the IRS owes him and his new wife “about $30,000.”

“We’ve been in a dispute with the IRS now for years,” Moore added.