You can see local candidates' names just about everywhere on lawn signs, posters and fliers as you can every year at this time. But this year's candidates appear infrequently in court records and on tax-delinquency lists.

The Deseret News routinely checks court and tax records for candidates' names, seeking to learn whether political hopefuls have potential conflicts of interest because of their own run-ins with the government or legal system.Among candidates who will be on the ballot next week, the newspaper found no instances of recurring court action or of people who refuse to pay their taxes. The research found a few candidates who were late clearing up tax matters:

- The Utah State Tax Commission filed a $1,749.45 tax lien against House District 23 candidate Duane Bourdeaux, a Salt Lake County Democrat, in 1992.

The matter was "satisfied" on Monday, according to a 3rd District Court report.

Bourdeaux said there had been a mix-up over a 1989 income-tax return that had apparently not been received by the tax commission. Bourdeaux, who said he recently learned of the lien, went to settle the matter and was told he owed no money.

Bourdeaux told the Deseret News he actually was entitled to a refund of tax money but because of the time lapse would not get any.

- State legislative candidate Richard Siddoway in Davis County's House District 20 had a run-in with the tax man as a result of a swimming-lesson business he ran in the 1980s. It was a family business, and he and his wife hired their children as independent contractors for tax purposes.

Tax laws changed in 1989, however, making the Siddoways liable for more state and federal tax than they had paid on their children. There was some confusion about exactly how the changes affected the business, and the Siddoways wound up negotiating with state and federal tax examiners for years before everything was finally settled.

In the course of negotiations, liens were placed on the Siddoways' property in 1991 (for $536) and 1995 ($868), both of which were paid for and released within a few weeks.

- Davis Board of Education candidate Marian Storey and her husband, Frank, pay their property taxes late. They say it's simply a matter of business.

Property taxes comprise 12 percent (about $25 million) of the Davis County School District's general fund for fiscal 1996-97.

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The Storeys own a rental property, their residential property and a large orchard, parcels of which they sell for development from time to time. Their practice has been to wait to pay county property taxes until they have a very profitable year, at which time they pay the property taxes so they can deduct the amount from their income in order to save on federal and state income taxes.

As of Oct. 18, the Storeys owed just over $8,000 in combined property tax, penalties and interest on their three properties. Tax on the rental property has not been paid since 1991, and it will go up for tax sale next May unless paid by that time. Taxes on the other properties have not been paid for the past two years.

Frank Storey said he will pay the rental property tax before the tax sale takes place. He has done this last-minute redemption in the past.

Delinquent property taxes do not subject the property owner to anything more than a nominal penalty (2 percent of the tax owed) and interest (varies from 9 percent in 1992 to 11.25 in 1995) until five years of delinquency, at which time the property is sold at a tax sale. The property owner is not criminally prosecuted.

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