The state Tax Division placed a new lien of $403,647 on The Greenbrier Hotel because of unpaid sales taxes.
The taxes were due last Dec. 31 and a penalty hit on Feb. 3. The lien went on file as public record this week in Greenbrier County.
Gov. Jim Justice and his family own The Greenbrier. The historic resort has gone through a series of financial conflicts in recent months. A foreclosure sale was held off last month when the Justices said they “secured” funding to satisfy a credit collection company. Also last month, The Greenbrier and unions representing workers reached an agreement on healthcare benefits in danger of running out.
The delinquent sales taxes have been a recurring problem for months.
Four liens originally made public in February plus another one that was added on July 16 amount to $2,752,907 still owed.
The latest $403,647 lien builds on that.
So the total amount currently owed for sales taxes, interest and penalties is $3,156,554.
A tax lien is a legal claim against the assets of a person or business who fails to pay taxes owed.
Merchants collect sales taxes from customers but that’s never their money. It’s the customer’s money flowing to the government with the merchant in a middle role to pass those collections — or remit them — on to the tax official.
Vendors such as The Greenbrier Hotel are supposed to impose sales taxes at the time of purchase. West Virginia sales taxes are required to be file and remitted monthly, quarterly, or annually, depending on an assigned filing frequency.
West Virginia businesses are expected to be in “good standing” with tax obligations for licensing requirements such as liquor licenses.
State records show that The Greenbrier’s liquor license is active and was re-issued on July 1 of this year by the Alcohol Beverage Control Administration.
The state Tax Division issues letters of good standing for businesses to obtain their licensing. If a business is not considered to be in good standing, a denial may be issued. Such notification would include a detailed list of missing returns, unpaid balances and other non-compliant issues.
A letter of good standing expires 90-days after the issue date. If compliance status changes within the 90 days, the West Virginia Tax Division may rescind the letter of good standing.
“In most cases, a taxpayer is considered to be in good standing even with outstanding tax liabilities if they have a payment plan in place to address their outstanding liabilities and are not in default on the payment plan,” according to the tax department.
Both the state tax division and the alcohol licensing agency are in the executive branch in the Justice administration, meaning they are broadly within the governor’s oversight.
Governor Justice, in a late April radio interview, said The Greenbrier is on a payment plan to straighten out the liens.
“All’s good in the neighborhood there,” Justice said.
At the time he spoke, records online with Greenbrier County showed that one lien had been released. That one amounting to $388,540 dated to June 30, 2023.
Late this past July, two more liens amounting to $897,615 were withdrawn.
The filings don’t explain reasons for a lien’s withdrawal, but the most likely scenario is that they were paid.
Bottom line: As some liens have been withdrawn over time, new ones have been filed.
Seven tax liens were filed in February, three of those have been withdrawn and two new ones have been added. So six total remain active.
Justice, in his April radio interview, said he is not looped in on why the sales taxes built up in the first place at The Greenbrier.
“I’ve got my son and daughter and my son-in-law and a lot of really qualified people that are taking care of that. From time to time, I guess they have a bump in the road, and everything, and they take care of it,” he said. “But it’s nothing more than a bump in the road.”