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.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Bonnie Kristian was a deputy editor and acting editor-in-chief of TheWeek.com. She is a columnist at Christianity Today and author of Untrustworthy: The Knowledge Crisis Breaking Our Brains, Polluting Our Politics, and Corrupting Christian Community (forthcoming 2022) and A Flexible Faith: Rethinking What It Means to Follow Jesus Today (2018). Her writing has also appeared at Time Magazine, CNN, USA Today, Newsweek, the Los Angeles Times, and The American Conservative, among other outlets.
-
'If you keep people permanently unhappy, you cannot have a stable society'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
The Nare Hotel: a charming hideaway on the Cornish coast
The Week Recommends Upgrade your classic seaside holiday at this five-star country house hotel
By Theo Tait Published
-
Today's political cartoons - March 6, 2025
Cartoons Thursday's cartoons - weird science, Hoover's heels, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Crafting emporium Joann is going out of business
Speed Read The 82-year-old fabric and crafts store will be closing all 800 of its stores
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Trump's China tariffs start after Canada, Mexico pauses
Speed Read The president paused his tariffs on America's closest neighbors after speaking to their leaders, but his import tax on Chinese goods has taken effect
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Chinese AI chatbot's rise slams US tech stocks
Speed Read The sudden popularity of a new AI chatbot from Chinese startup DeepSeek has sent U.S. tech stocks tumbling
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
US port strike averted with tentative labor deal
Speed Read The strike could have shut down major ports from Texas to Maine
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Biden expected to block Japanese bid for US Steel
Speed Read The president is blocking the $14 billion acquisition of U.S. Steel by Japan's Nippon Steel, citing national security concerns
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Judges block $25B Kroger-Albertsons merger
Speed Read The proposed merger between the supermarket giants was stalled when judges overseeing two separate cases blocked the deal
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Rupert Murdoch loses 'Succession' court battle
Speed Read Murdoch wanted to give full control of his empire to son Lachlan, ensuring Fox News' right-wing editorial slant
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Bitcoin surges above $100k in post-election rally
Speed Read Investors are betting that the incoming Trump administration will embrace crypto
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published