NEW YORK — The Rev. Al Sharpton, who spent years marching through the city in a track suit while shouting indignantly at men in power, stood quietly on a stage last month for his birthday party at the Four Seasons restaurant, his now slender frame wrapped in a finely tailored suit, as men in power lined up to exclaim their admiration for him.
Obscured in his ascent, however, has been his troubling financial past, which continues to shadow his present.
Sharpton has regularly sidestepped the sorts of obligations most people see as inevitable, like taxes, rent, and other bills. Records reviewed by The New York Times show more than $4.5 million in current state and federal tax liens against him and his for-profit businesses. And though he said in recent interviews that he was paying both down, his balance with the state, at least, has actually grown in recent years. His National Action Network appears to have been sustained for years by not paying federal payroll taxes on its employees.
With the tax liability outstanding, Sharpton traveled first class and collected a sizable salary.
Sharpton and the National Action Network have repeatedly failed to pay travel agencies, hotels, and landlords.
Sharpton acknowledged his financial troubles in recent interviews. “You can say I’m not a great administrator,” he said. “You can’t say that I’m not committed.”