Young, Multimillionaire Aide to Lewis Claims Elderlies’ Tax Break?

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Jeffrey Shockey is a 40-year-old aide to Rep. Jerry Lewis (R-CA) who picked up $2 million from his old lobbying firm last year.

But the District of Columbia doesn’t appear to know that.

According to the city’s records, Shockey is a senior citizen who earns less than $100,000 a year. That qualifies him for a major break on the taxes he pays on his home, a manse thought to be worth over a million dollars.

The tax break essentially chops the assessed value of an elderly person’s home in half. In Shockey’s case, he saved around $4,000 last year alone by claiming the deduction, according to the city’s online database.

Think it’s not a big deal? Ask Karl Rove: the Bush adviser got in trouble over a similar matter last year, for confusion over whether he lived primarily in DC or Texas. Of course, it’s one thing to confuse where your primary residence is; it’s another thing entirely to be confused over whether you’re 40 or 65. Or to lose track of whether you make less than $100,000, or enjoy multi-million-dollar payouts from a lobbying firm.

I called Shockey’s office on the Hill for comment, but got no reply. I also called Trent Duffy, the flack who had been taking press calls for the Shockeys last Friday on his mobile phone. (Duffy was formerly White House deputy press secretary.) But by this morning, the phone had been disconnected. Duffy did not respond to an email to his personal account.

Despite repeated phone calls, the District Office of Tax and Revenue could not confirm the accuracy of the information in Shockey’s online records. Indeed, the office spells his last name “Shockley” in the database record for his property, although the address shows it is clearly the record for his house.

We’re hoping to get more information soon, however.

Update: An earlier version of this story said Jeffrey Shockey is 39; he is 40.

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