The U.S. government on Monday sued Sen. Jim Justice, a West Virginia Republican, and his wife for $5.1 million in unpaid federal income taxes, penalties, and interest dating to the 2009 tax filing year.
“Despite notice and demand for payment of the assessments ...James C. Justice, II, and Cathy L. Justice have neglected or refused to make full payment of those assessments to the United States,” the lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Beckley, West Virginia, alleged.
The lawsuit, filed by the Tax Division of the Department of Justice, asks a judge to enter a judgment in favor of the U.S. against the couple in the amount of $5,164,739.75, which was the amount owed to the Internal Revenue Service as of Aug. 4, according to the filing.
The suit was filed nearly two months after the IRS reportedly filed notices of a tax lien for $8 million against Justice in Greenbrier County, West Virginia. One of the notices referenced a tax assessment dated Nov. 25, 2015 — the same date as the assessment referenced in the lawsuit filed Monday.
Politico, which broke the news of the tax lien on Oct. 10, noted then that the IRS website says “generally the IRS can pursue collection of a tax liability up to 10 years from the date it was assessed. A Notice of Federal Tax Lien may be filed any time within that 10-year period.”
