W.Va. governor fails to pay tax struggling Ky. schools need

Justice (AP photo by Walter Scriptunas)

Coal companies controlled by the children of billionaire West Virginia 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," mainly due to the Appalachian coal industry's decline, 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 to his son James C. "Jay" Justice III and daughter Jill Justice. Though other coal companies are behind on taxes, Justice's Kentucky Fuel Corp. owes $1.92 million in delinquent 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 go to local schools.

"Justice companies also owe . . . 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 Estep and Wright that the company has been working on paying off delinquent taxes, but most of his father's wealth is in assets and not liquid cash. Knott Countyhas had an especially hard time collecting; Kentucky Fuel agreed to pay $1.2 million by 2015 to settle its bill, but stopped paying after $800,000. A court ordered the firm 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