U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst last week repaid almost $1,900 for a tax break that she had claimed on her Washington, D.C., condo since 2016, while simultaneously claiming a similar tax break in Iowa.
Homestead tax credits are available only to people who own property and claim the property as their primary residence.
Her office said her claim of the homestead tax credit in Washington, D.C., was an error that she rectified with the check. Ernst wrote the check to the Washington, D.C., Office of Tax and Revenue Friday, two days after the Des Moines Register inquired about the matter.
Washington's homestead tax application instructions specifically say members of Congress are generally not eligible for the break.
People convicted of fraud related to the tax break theoretically face up to 180 days in jail and a $5,000 fine, according to the application for the credit, which requires a signed affidavit.
It was not immediately clear what — if any — penalty Ernst faces. David Umansky, a spokesman for the Office of Tax and Revenue, said the office could not comment about individual cases. The agency didn't answer more general questions about how it typically proceeds in such cases.
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