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AOC's 'Tax the Rich' dress designer reportedly owes thousands in unpaid taxes
Jamie McCarthy/MG21/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue

AOC's 'Tax the Rich' dress designer reportedly owes thousands in unpaid taxes

A new report alleges a seemingly hypocritical accusation against the designer of the dress Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) wore to the swanky Met Gala. The designer, Aurora James, is a "notorious tax deadbeat with unpaid debts dogging her in multiple states," according to the New York Post.

James, 37, designed the "Tax the Rich" dress that Ocasio-Cortez wore to the $30,000-per-ticket posh fete. James, who reportedly has a net worth of $2 million, said the gown delivered a "powerful message" at the glitzy event that featured well-to-do celebrities and influential elites.

The controversy stems from the Cultural Brokerage Agency, an LLC that James formed in 2021 to serve as the parent company of her fashion brand, Brother Vellies. The company has been served 15 warrants in total since 2015, according to the outlet.

The New York Post reported:

The company racked up three open tax warrants in New York state for failing to withhold income taxes from employees' paychecks totaling $14,798, the state Department of Taxation and Finance told The Post. The debts — which were incurred before the pandemic — stem from 2018 and 2019.

The company got into a deeper hole with the feds. Between April 2018 and April 2019, the Internal Revenue Service placed six federal liens on Cultural Brokerage Agency totaling $103,220. The liens specifically cite the company's failure to remit employee payroll taxes.

The IRS did not comment on the current status, the Post said.

James' company purportedly received $41,666 in pandemic relief aid from the government.

The report claimed that the Cultural Brokerage Agency was hit with a "$17,000 fine for not carrying worker's-comp insurance between March 2017 and February 2018."

A former employee, who remained anonymous, allegedly described the operation as a "sweatshop that relied on legions of unpaid interns working full-time jobs."

Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-N.Y.) said, "It's the height of hypocrisy when socialists attend a $30,000 per ticket gala with a message of 'tax the rich' while wearing an overpriced dress by a luxury designer who doesn't pay taxes. What happened to everyone paying their fair share?"

James walked the red carpet with Ocasio-Cortez and her "Tax the Rich" dress at the opulent Met Gala, along with their dates. For the ostentatious soirée, James was accompanied by 39-year-old Benjamin Bronfman, who has an estimated net worth of $100 million. His father is Edgar Bronfman Jr., who has an estimated net worth of $2.5 billion, thanks to his family-owned Seagram's alcohol distilling company. He was previously the CEO of Warner Music Group.

The far-left Ocasio-Cortez has made a career of demanding wealth redistribution. Shortly after getting into office in 2019, the progressive called for the rich to be taxed up to 70%. Last week, Bill Maher challenged Ocasio-Cortez's assertion that the "rich aren't paying their fair share of taxes."

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