US congressman under pressure over unpaid taxes

A US congressman who sits on a tax-writing committee is resisting pressure to resign after it emerged he failed to pay taxes on earnings from a holiday villa.

New York Democrat Charles Rangel owes around $10,000 (£5,700) in taxes on the $75,000 income he has earned from renting out his villa in the Dominican Islands.

However, the chairman of the Ways and Means Committee argued that he didn’t know the income needed to be reported and that the manager of the resort on which the property lies did not hand over detailed financial statements, according to WebCPA.

Rangel, who has been in congress for 38 years, is under pressure from House minority leader John Boehner to step down, but is so far refusing to do so.