Ohio tax board rules against Mike Tyson

The boxer intended to settle in Southington, a parole officer's report says.
COLUMBUS (AP) -- Former heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson is not entitled to a refund of $5.8 million in state income taxes he paid in 1995-96 on a Southington home he owned, the Ohio Board of Tax Appeals ruled Friday.
Tyson bought the 62-acre estate in Trumbull County in 1991. In 1992, he was imprisoned in Indiana on a rape conviction and was paroled in 1995. His probation was transferred to Ohio and stated he was a resident of the state.
He paid $2 million in state income taxes to Ohio in 1995 and $3.8 million in 1996, according to his tax returns. Tyson contends he moved to Las Vegas after his parole and mistakenly paid the Ohio taxes. His federal income tax returns showed incomes of $29 million in 1995 and $56 million in 1996.
Argument
The Ohio Department of Taxation argued that even though a person can have more than one residence, the person must have a primary home and in Tyson's case, it was Southington Township.
Tyson presented credit-card receipts and other records to demonstrate his primary residence was in Nevada. He also claimed Indiana as a residence for the part of 1995 in which he was still imprisoned.
He was released March 25 that year.
His parole officer wrote in a report that Tyson told him he intended to settle in Southington and did not want to transfer his parole to authorities in Nevada, court records show.
A condition of his parole was to maintain an Ohio residence and obtain written permission before leaving the state, according to the records.
The state said a paper trail proves Tyson was an Ohio resident because he lived in the state for at least 120 days each of those two years.
Tyson's testimony
Tyson testified during a hearing in the case last year that he thought Ohio was a "great state," but he never intended to make it his primary residence.
"I'm sure you guys know that I have a lot of money, that I'm not broke, you know?" Tyson testified. "I'm embarrassed being here fighting over this, but this is my money, and I'm tired of you guys stealing my money."
Tyson's lawyer in the case, Elliott H. Kajan, said he had not discussed with Tyson whether to appeal the ruling to the Ohio Supreme Court.
"It took them a long time to reach the wrong decision," Kajan said.
"This supports our efforts to ensure that everyone pays their fair share of taxes," Ohio Tax Commissioner Thomas Zaino said.