Tag: irs

Horry County Spins More Negativity Toward Treasurer

Horry County officials again put a negative spin on comments about the Horry County Treasurer’s Office in a story by a local news outlet this week.

The story questioned Treasurer Angie Jones hiring of former Horry County Clerk of Courts Melanie Huggins-Ward to clear up the backlog of tax refunds owed to Horry County taxpayers.

The issue dates back to July 6, 2017, three days after Jones took office. Jones requested the county contract with Huggins-Ward for a part-time position to work on the refund backlog.

Assistant County Administrator Justin Powell responded by saying Jones was $20,591.72 over budget based on proposed salaries. He also included the following statement: “It is my understanding it is financially favorable to her (Huggins-Ward) to work as a contractor rather than as an employee because it prevents her pension from being cut off after earning $10,000 with the county. Human Resources is contacting the South Carolina Retirement System and IRS this morning to ask their opinion on the use of a contract to circumvent the SCRS earnings limitations on retirees. The last thing any of us wants is the appearance of an attempt to “game” the Internal Revenue Code or laws governing the South Carolina Retirement System.”

County officials made certain this email was included in documents provided to the media outlet. Of course, the comment about ‘gaming the system’ was jumped all over.

It appears this was the intention of county officials all along, because an email to Jones from Horry County Human Resources Director Patrick Owens bearing the same July 6, 2017 date was not included, but contained the following suggestion:

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Thad Viers and Coastal Kickback: What If…

The 14 count federal indictment, with a potential 145 years in prison, brought against former state Rep. Thad Viers earlier this week brings several questions to mind.

Twelve of the counts were for what lawyers do every day – remove money from their trust account at the direction of the client.

If all of the withdrawals were made with the intent to hide assets and if Viers knew this as alleged, wouldn’t the 13th count of conspiracy to hide assets cover these transactions?

Maybe the answer to why such a draconian indictment was brought lies with the 14th count – lying to an IRS investigator.

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The HCSWA and Its Tangled Web

The Horry County Solid Waste Authority (HCSWA) will have another day in court as the U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals will hear arguments in an appeal by William Clyburn, former owner of Sandlands C&D LLC and Express Disposal.

The arguments are scheduled for October 31, 2013 in Richmond. Clyburn will be attempting to overturn the district court decision that upheld the county’s waste stream flow control ordinance that established a monopoly in garbage disposal for the HCSWA, seriously hurting Clyburn’s businesses.

For the hearing, the HCSWA will be claiming it is a non-profit corporation. As HCSWA Executive Director Danny Knight said in an I&R meeting two months ago, “in court we’re not the county.”

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Gingrich, Myrtle Beach, Oil and Interstates

Will Myrtle Beach Election Heat Up?

One more holiday shortened week remains for filing of candidates in the upcoming Myrtle Beach city elections.

Last week, the Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce’s Grand Strand Business Alliance PAC sent out an expensive looking mailer supporting its ‘Dream Team’ – the four incumbents running for re-election.

The easiest way to win an election is to discourage challengers from filing and everybody understands now, if anyone doubted, that the Chamber, through the GSBA, will again be a strong player in the city election.

You would too if three of these incumbents steered approximately $70 million in public money into your budget.

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HCSWA Laying Low

For the past several months, officials at the Horry County Solid Waste Authority (HCSWA) have been pushing changes with the agency’s by-laws so that HCSWA would not have to file a Form 990 with the IRS.

All of a sudden those changes are not a priority anymore because the Horry County Infrastructure and Regulation Committee is taking a closer look at the form of its oversight of the HCSWA.

Actually, oversight is a misnomer as Horry County Council has done little oversight of this agency for the past decade.

We won’t get into the specifics of the reasons for the changes. Suffice it to say the HCSWA does not want to explain to the IRS why it has $37 million in the bank – $22 million in questionable future expense reserves and $15 million excess reserves.

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Chambergate Investigation Still on Track

David Wren of the Sun News reported yesterday that the Chambergate investigation into 2009 political donations, by a host of local LLC’s that had no income, was continuing.

The article stated an investigator with the IRS had confirmed the investigation was ongoing into political donations by these LLC’s whose principals have ties to the Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce.

According to Wren’s article, the investigator contacted the Sun News last week requesting documents the paper had obtained regarding the political donations.

This report confirms rumblings we have been hearing for some months now that the investigation was continuing and indictments from a federal grand jury would be coming down in the case.

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Defending the First Amendment

The Obama administration’s attack on the First Amendment took a predictable turn recently when White House Press Secretary Jay Carney reiterated the administration’s use of national security concerns in justifying White House investigations of journalists.

In attempting to justify the Justice Department’s seizing of reporters’ phone records and emails, Carney said, “The president believes it’s important that we find the proper balance between the need—absolute need to protect our secrets and to prevent leaks that can jeopardize the lives of Americans and can jeopardize our national security interests on the one hand and the need for—to defend the First Amendment and protect the ability of reporters to pursue investigative journalism.”

The original attack on the First Amendment, with the Sedition Acts way back in 1798, made it illegal for persons to criticize the administration and/or government, even if the criticism was true. The acts were passed by the Federalist Congress in the mistaken impression that they were combating anarchy – a threat to national security.

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Trey Gowdy wants to see IRS jail time

Trey Gowdy wants to see IRS jail time

Trey Gowdy wants to see IRS jail time By ANDREA DRUSCH Rep. Trey Gowdy says he wants a “full throated outrage” from the president over the recent controversy at the IRS. “We’re not interested in retirements and forced ousters, we’re interested in people going to jail,” the South Carolina Republican […]

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IRS Story Unravels; Liberty Lost

IRS Story Unravels; Liberty Lost

The initial story from the IRS regarding alleged targeting of conservative groups has fallen apart. These actions go well beyond one or several low level employees acting on their own.

According to a report from the IRS Inspector General’s office, senior officials at the IRS knew about the targeting of conservative groups for over a year without doing anything about it.

Every new revelation makes this whole caper seem more and more politically motivated regardless of what the Obama administration says.

Yesterday we heard that at least one organization in South Carolina, the Laurens County Tea Party, was one of the many organizations having problems with the IRS. The group applied for tax-exempt status in 2010 and still has received no answer.

Yesterday we also heard that the Justice Department had begun an investigation into the actions of the IRS. This would be the same Justice Department that performed warrantless searches on the phone records of several reporters at the Associated Press.

If government officials don’t respect the laws of the United States and the provisions of the Constitution, who will?

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We now know that at least three IRS offices were involved in the targeting of conservative groups seeking tax-exempt status.

Investigating the IRS partie deux

We now know that at least three IRS offices were involved in the targeting of conservative groups seeking tax-exempt status.

The Washington Post reported today the IRS Washington, D.C. headquarters sent questionnaires to conservative groups asking about their donors and other areas of their operations while the El Monte and Laguna Miguel offices in California did the same with tea party affiliated groups.

This takes the investigation of IRS activities well beyond the initial claim that some low level functionaries in the Cincinnati office were to blame.

According to the article, an employee in the Cincinnati office told a lawyer representing one of the targeted groups that its application was “under review” in Washington.

Interestingly, it was George W. Bush appointed IRS Commissioner Douglas Shulman who told a Congressional committee in spring 2012 that no targeting was occurring. Shulman resigned in November 2012.

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