JOSH CLAIMS: Sherrod Brown was delinquent on his taxes.

THE TRUTH: Sherrod Brown has paid his taxes – Josh Mandel’s the one with the tax problem.

1. Josh Mandel did not pay any payroll taxes on top campaign staffers in 2010 after paying them at least $260,000 in compensation. [Salon, 9/24/12]

2. Josh Mandel may have illegally hired nine top aides as “independent contractors,” allowing him to skirt campaign finance laws and avoid paying taxes on those employees. [Salon, 9/24/12]

Headline: “Did GOP Senate Hopeful Bilk Treasury?” [Salon, 9/24/12]

Mandel’s Classification of Workers In 2010 Allowed Him To Forgo State and Federal Taxes.  In September 2012, Salon reported “As Mandel ran for state treasurer in 2010, he classified at least nine of his senior staffers as independent contractors instead of full-time employees, according to campaign finance disclosures reviewed by Salon, which allowed him to forgo paying some taxes to the state and the IRS.” [Salon, 9/24/12]

Mandel’s Campaign “Did Not Pay Payroll Taxes.”  In September 2012, Salon reported “Mandel’s campaign paid out at least $260,000 in compensation during his 2010 campaign for which he did not pay payroll taxes.” [Salon, 9/24/12]

Legal Employment Expert: Independent Contractors Usually Work For Other Entities And Market Themselves As Consultants.  In September 2012, Salon reported “None of these nine staffers was paid by any other political campaign in Ohio in 2009 or 2010, according to the state campaign finance database. Cathy Ruckelshaus, the legal co-director of the National Employment Law Project, said this is an important point. ‘The main test for whether you can accurately characterize your workers as independent contractors is if they’re running their own business,’ she explained. But merely being incorporated isn’t enough: ‘It would really depend on whether or not they are able and are working for other people, if they really are marketing themselves as consultants and they work for a lot of different employers.'” [Salon, 9/24/12]