Last updated on 2015-04-22
My local paper certainly thinks Brown County Commissioner Tom Fischbach had a good idea. Last September, he alerted his fellow commissioners to the fact that Joop Bollen may have cheated this county of $1.76 million that he should have been paying in bank franchise tax on his lucrative lending operations in the EB-5 visa investment program. Over the weekend, we received partial confirmation of that suspicion when we learned Bollen has applied for and that state has ruled necessary a lending license for his SDRC Inc.
Well done, Commissioner Fischbach, says the AAN:
Credit Brown County commissioner Tom Fischbach for an idea that could net some money for the county from the federal EB-5 investor program….
Last month, the state Department of Labor and Regulation Division of Banking issued a license to SDRC allowing it to be a nonresidential mortgage lender. SDRC applied for the license.
That it was issued means SDRC will have to pay the banking franchise tax on future transactions. The state Department of Revenue is examining whether it can collect the tax retroactively….
While it’s certainly possible that the state will determine that SDRC doesn’t owe any back taxes, it’s equally true that the Department of Revenue might try to collect the money, or at least a portion of it. And $1.76 million, or even a part of that total, would be a nice bump for the county. It could be used to fix roads or make improvements to the fairgrounds or upgrade technology.
Fischbach was right to ask the state to look into the matter. Like him, we are surprised that his request sparked action [editorial, Aberdeen American News, 2015.04.02].
The only surprise anyone should feel at this point is that anyone in Pierre should oppose going after Bollen for the millions in gravy that he unlawfully took.
The British have a wonderful term: “QUANGO” which stands for Quasi Non Governmental Organization-a shape-shifting construct that crosses back and forth over the divide between public and private until no one can tell what it is, where it is going or what happened to the money. Whatever one’s thoughts about private vs. public works of this sort, it looks like any combination thereof is only good for disappearing funds into the ether, eventually into somebody’s pocket.
The lackluster attitude with these state regulators goes back to the Bill Janklow days when he closed the books on State Treasurer Richard Butler and gave the banks carte blanche in SD.
Keep an eye on the Fischbachs up there, Cory. They have standards I’ll hold you to.
Bendagate is like the dry heaves: looking into a toilet bowl and knowing nothing is getting on the floor.
Mr. kurtz, I am sure you get your well defined abdominal muscles from much of that heaving but to what do you attribute those sinewy calves you sport above your leather Jesus sandals?
validation that we are right that criminal SDGOP sponsored monkey-business was/is occurring under the covers of Daugaard’s administration and round’s administration is helpful; more will come to light.
that is really the point grudz. oh, but you re-elected them.
Maybe Joop can send Mike this example of over-regulation of government!
Seriously…Mike Rounds has decided that governing by anecdote is the way to go in “the world’s greatest deliberative body.”
“Rounds Asks For Stories About Federal Government Regulation”
http://www.keloland.com/newsdetail.cfm/rounds-asks-for-stories-about-federal-government-regulation/?id=178158
Way to reinforce your shallowness Mike!
How about we give him some examples of where government regulation helps SD and where more government regulation is needed for the benefit of those outside his donor base.
Guessing his friends at Citi Bank will send him the message that if they didn’t have government regulation they could have destroyed the US and World economy much faster than they did the last time!
Grudz-they are called jesus creepers which means sandals.(Google it)
Why wait until now if skullduggery was suspected back when? I suspect no one wanted to ask Jackley for his learned opinion on what constitutes a crime,since he appears to be a large part of the problem.
How about that. The SD Department of Revenue has decided to continue the cloak of secrecy over the whole affair and any banking tax that Joop may owe…what a surprise…not.
http://www.keloland.com/newsdetail.cfm/sd-law-bars-eb-5-loan-firms-past-tax-liability-disclosure/?id=178967