Doug Anderson, the underdog Democratic Senate candidate who blasted incumbent Rep. Wayne Owens, D-Utah, for his House bank overdrafts, had a lien put on his Massachusetts property in 1990.
Massachusetts secretary of state records show the lien stemmed from a 2-year-old unpaid state income tax obligation of $5,000 for 1987.In September 1990, Anderson paid $7,761, including interest, to release the lien.
Anderson said the lien was the result of an accounting error. He said he overpaid his taxes in 1987 and received a $51,592 refund, which he then applied to his estimated 1988 taxes.
The $5,000 was mistakenly listed as a credit by his accountant, Anderson said.
"We actually gave the state a $46,000 interest-free loan but had to pay interest on the $5,000," he said.
Anderson said he was unaware of the debt until 1990, when he attempted to sell his house and move back to Utah. He said he immediately paid it off.
Owens has acknowledged nearly 100 overdrafts from the House bank, a revelation Anderson has hit hard in his bid to overhaul Owens for the Democratic Party's senatorial nomination.