Freshman U.S. Rep. Tom Graves on Friday opted to pay a $1,498 IRS penalty rather than let a lien stand on property he owned as a hotel developer.
Earlier this week, the IRS filed the lien seeking penalties from Tich Properties, a company Graves and state Senate Majority Leader Chip Rogers jointly owned, according to documents provided by Graves' office.
Graves, a Republican from Ranger, Ga., said in a statement Friday the lien was simply a paperwork mix-up. He insisted that on two previous occasions his accountant provided all the paperwork the IRS had requested.
"I'm glad to say that this matter has already been fully resolved," Graves said in the statement. "I do want to make one thing clear; this issue was only about missing forms, and not at all about unpaid taxes. According to the IRS, all taxes had been paid on time."
Graves' spokesman, John Donnelly, said Tich Properties will seek a refund for the penalty from the IRS. Donnelly e-mailed the Chattanooga Times Free Press a copy of a check showing the fine had been paid at the IRS office in Rome, Ga.
The lien, filed Dec. 13 in Gordon County Court, states that Graves and Tich Properties owed $1,498 in tax penalties from 2007.
On Friday, Graves' accountant hand-delivered the paperwork to the IRS in Atlanta, according to the statement.
Graves' congressional office on Friday provided paperwork from the federal government that stated the lien could be for incomplete tax returns.
"Unfortunately, this is just another example of the bureaucratic barriers that stand in the way of small businesses across America," Graves said.
Rogers, Graves' business partner, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Friday that he was willing to pay the lien just to resolve the matter.
Graves earns $174,000 annually as a congressman. Rogers lists "small businessman" as his occupation on state records and earned about $19,000 last year as a part-time state senator.
"Our accountant has documents showing all paperwork has been filed properly," Rogers told the AJC. "Apparently, the Social Security Administration asked our payroll people back in 2008 to resubmit the W-2 paperwork, and they did. We heard nothing else until now."
Even if the lien now is behind them, the partners still face a federal civil lawsuit that stems from Tich Properties' failed investment in two North Georgia hotels.
Graves was sued in January by Bartow County Bank. The suit alleges that a motel business under the name of Tich Properties or Tich Hospitalities, run by Graves and Rogers, defaulted on a $2.25 million loan.
Graves and Rogers said in court documents filed in March that the bank had allowed their company to refinance the loan in November 2009. They say the bank then reneged on the agreement.
Graves won a June special election for the congressional seat formerly held by U.S. Rep. Nathan Deal. In November, Graves won a full term and Deal was elected as Georgia's governor.
Contact staff writer Adam Crisp at acrisp@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6323.