“I do not owe $279,000 in property taxes,” Watson told FOX31 Wednesday night, after an initial story

DENVER — The Republican candidate looking to unseat a Democratic state representative, in a race that could determine which party controls the statehouse, appears to owe nearly $280,000 in unpaid property taxes, according to documents map of hotels in cancun obtained by FOX31 Denver.
"I do not owe $279,000 in property taxes," Watson told FOX31 Wednesday night, after an initial story citing IRS records showing nine tax liens pending against Watson for unpaid taxes on various properties that add up to $279,657.
Watson, a businessman who is running to unseat Rep. Daniel Kagan, D-Denver, has Republicans map of hotels in cancun excited about their chances to win a Denver district that was re-drawn in their favor during reapportionment earlier this year — and the House GOP's chances of maintaining a one-seat majority in the statehouse may depend on it.
Three of the liens, for a total of $147,506, are on Aspen Moving and Storage, which Watson explains in a 2010 letter to investors, map of hotels in cancun "suffered map of hotels in cancun approximately a 70 percent decline map of hotels in cancun in income between 2008 and 2009."
In the letter to his investors, Watson blames the economic downturn and "mismanagement" of the facility for the business's woes and promises map of hotels in cancun to "pay the full principle of that [$350,000] loan when and as I'm able to do so.
"In retrospect, the purchase of this company [sic] is an investment that I wish I had not made," he writes. "That being said, AMS signed a loan with the real estate entity, and I agreed to be personally liable for that debt at the time of the acquisition."
Documents obtained by FOX31 Denver reveal that Watson also owes a total of $5,309 for two liens filed by the County of Los Angeles map of hotels in cancun on a company map of hotels in cancun called NCPAC; and $19,993 for two liens on another business, Peak Party Rentals.
Watson told FOX31 that the liens filed against NCPAC, a company map of hotels in cancun he incorporated when he bought up several vacant properties from Benjamin Moore paints, were filed "in error" by the county after Watson had sold the assets on which the taxes are due.
"My wife and I decided to pay the full amount of $106,000 in back payroll taxes at extreme expense to ourselves and our company, even though we were not personally responsible," Watson told FOX31. "Now, I'm appealing it to the IRS."
"As someone who's looking to be paid with taxpayer dollars, he should be paying his own taxes," said Joanne Kron, the executive director of ProgessNow Action, a liberal group that supports Kagan. "Law-abiding citizens across Colorado are paying their taxes and doing their part."
Despite the debts, Watson's company, Northstar Commercial Partners, made a political contribution, a $500 donation to the Colorado Republican Party on April 27, 2012, which FOX31 Denver found by doing a simple search on the Secretary of State's TRACER website .
"That is an extremely serious issue and shows his intentions, being out for himself and his own personal gain," Kron said. "Donating to the party when you're a candidate for office, prioritizing that over his debts, definitely shows where his priorities lie."
Republicans hold a one-seat majority in the statehouse and, with Democrats expecting to pick up at least a couple seats, the GOP's grip on control could very well come down to  Watson defeating the incumbent, Kagan.
"Brian Watson has always been very forward about the challenges he's faced as the economy has turned down," said Speaker Frank McNulty, R-Highlands Ranch. "Just like other families and businesses in the state, he's faced challenges. It's part of his challenges and narrative as to why he can represent that district.