Missouri Senator Claire McCaskill admitted today that she has failed to pay up approximately $287,000 in back taxes on a personal airplane.
Problems with McCaskill's plane surfaced several weeks ago amid reports that her office improperly billed the government for travel to a political event.
McCaskill took responsibility for that mistake, but she admits that the perception of dodging taxes could hurt her chances for re-election in 2012.
"I've been sick to my stomach for four days," McCaskill said. "You know I really do feel like a lot of people are going to feel…how in the world? You've got this big business and they're wealthy and how did they not self-report this airplane? And somebody made a mistake."
The Missouri Republican Party has filed an ethics complaint against McCaskill.
Missouri is one of the few states that charges property tax on airplanes.
McCaskill says she is paying the back taxes in full and plans to sell the airplane.
