State tax commissioner resigns after not paying taxes

A member of the Louisiana Tax Commission resigned this week after the revelation that he failed to pay property taxes on a building he owned for 30 years. Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards asked the commissioner, Jimmie Thorns, to step down following the news of his tax delinquency.

"Since Mr. Thorns' issues involve property tax avoidance with the City of New Orleans from an entity he owned that filed for bankruptcy decades ago," said Edwards' office, the governor was unaware of the debt when he appointed Thorns to his position earlier this year, and Thorns "did not disclose the information" at that time.

Before his resignation, Thorns earned $56,000 to oversee Louisiana tax policy. He owes about $140,000 in back taxes for a house in New Orleans.

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