By Steve Brawner, © 2019 by Steve Brawner Communications, Inc.

In light of what’s been happening lately at the State Capitol, average citizens might be asking a simple question: If a legislator doesn’t have to pay all of his taxes, then why should we?

I’m referring to the case of Rep. Mickey Gates, R-Hot Springs, who is still in office despite pleading no contest July 29 to charges of failing to pay his taxes in 2012. Gates must now pay the state $74,789 for money owed from 2012-14, and a hearing will determine what he owes for 2015-17 . As part of his plea agreement, prosecutors dropped additional charges related to his failure to file tax returns from 2013-17.

That six-year period is bad enough, but his record of tax evasion actually is much longer. Authorities have said he owed the state almost $260,000 in taxes, interest and penalties after not filing a return from 2003-17. But he was not charged for those earlier years because the statute of limitations had run out.

Even after his no contest plea, he is refusing to resign, despite calls for him to do so by Gov. Asa Hutchinson, Speaker of the House Matthew Shepherd and others.

Hutchinson said that if Gates won’t resign, he should be removed from office, which can happen under the Arkansas Constitution with a two-thirds vote of the House of Representatives.

However, the Legislature likely will not meet again until next year. Hutchinson could call it into special session to expel Gates, but his spokesman told me he has no plans to do so.

That means Gates apparently will remain in office until at least next April, when the Legislature meets in its fiscal session. Until then, he’ll continue to attend committee meetings while drawing a taxpayer-funded annual base salary of more than $40,000, plus per diem payments and other reimbursements that will add many thousands to that amount.

Let’s hope he pays taxes on it this time.

Would lawmakers actually vote to expel Gates when they have the chance? By next April, his no contest plea will be a fading memory. The Legislature can be a chummy place, especially for a lawmaker who’s a member of the party in power. Lawmakers met earlier this year when Gates’ guilt was not really in doubt. After his arrest, he lost his leadership positions and certain committee slots but not his seat. Meanwhile, legislators passed two bills for which he was the primary sponsor.

If anyone removes Gates from office, it likely will have to be the voters. But will they?

Gates was re-elected last November with 65% of the vote, despite the fact that his failure to pay taxes had been widely reported. His constituents either did not know about the charges, or simply decided they weren’t important enough to vote against him. For various reasons, many would rather have a pro-life, pro-gun Republican tax evader in office than the Democrat who opposed him.

He’ll be up for re-election next year. If he’s to be beaten, it probably would have to occur in the Republican primary March 3. But Republican Party of Arkansas Chairman Doyle Webb said the party hasn’t heard any inquiries from potential candidates, and the party itself has no plans to take action against Gates.

So at the moment, it appears Gates will remain in office.

And that’s more bad news for a Legislature that’s had a lot of it lately. Six other former legislators have been convicted or pled guilty to corruption charges recently.

Given this history, one would hope the governor and Legislature would demand strict ethical standards of every elected official at the Capitol. Instead of calling for Gates to be removed, they should remove him.

Lawmakers have the power to spend our money after taking it from us. They better understand the gravity of that power when those laws affect them as well. We do not want a political class that can ignore tax laws for 15 years, pay only part of what is owed, and then remain in office.

I wish this column weren’t necessary. I have nothing against Gates personally. I wish him a long, prosperous and happy life.

But he shouldn’t remain in the Legislature. Lawmakers must pay their taxes, just like the rest of us.