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.