W.Va. governor fails to pay taxes needed by struggling Ky. schools - Entrepreneur Generations

Justice (AP photo by Walter Scriptunas)

Coal companies controlled by the adult children of billionaire W.Va. Gov. Jim Justice owe $2.9 million in delinquent taxes in Kentucky, "shorting schools and local government programs of money at a time many are struggling with tight finances," Bill Estep and Will Wright report for The Lexington Herald-Leader.

As of 2016, Justice controlled 154 coal mines or facilities in Kentucky, West Virginia and other states, but in 2017 he handed control of most of them to his son James. C. "Jay" Justice III and daughter Jill Justice. Though other coal companies are behind on taxes, Justice's company Kentucky Fuel Corporation owes $1.92 million in deliquent taxes and $119,221 in current taxes in cash-strapped Knott County on real estate, mining equipment, and coal reserves. The state gets some of the property taxes collected, but most of it goes to local schools.

"Justice companies also owe delinquent taxes in Pike, Floyd, Magoffin and Harlan counties, according to county clerks’ records," Estepp and Wright report. The debts, which have increased because of interest, "total more than $570,000 in Floyd County; $250,891 in Pike; and $54,842 in Magoffin, according to county clerk records. The outstanding debt in Harlan County is $85,372, according to the county attorney’s office."

Justice, whose net worth is an estimated $1.7 billion, owned 102 companies before being elected governor in 2016, including a luxury golf resort and enough corn, soybean and wheat operations to make him the largest farmer east of the Mississippi.

Jay Justice told Estepp and Wright that the company has been working on paying off delinquent taxes, but that most of his father's wealth is in assets and not liquid cash. Knott County, in particular, has had a hard time collecting. Kentucky Fuel agreed to pay $1.2 million by 2015 to settle its bill, but stopped paying after $800,000. The company was court-ordered to sell its property to satisfy the rest of the debt, but some of the subsequent checks it sent bounced. The county has filed suit again, but counties have to wait two years to file such lawsuits, so the taxes it's seeking to collect are from 2015.

Read more here: http://www.kentucky.com/news/state/article202138339.html#emlnl=Afternoon_Newsletter#storylink=cpy

from The Rural Blog http://ift.tt/2F7fVZV W.Va. governor fails to pay taxes needed by struggling Ky. schools - Entrepreneur Generations

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