A non-profit agency that gets your tax dollars to help low income people find housing is in trouble with the IRS.
The Giles County Housing and Development Corporation owes nearly a quarter of a million dollars in upaid taxes and fees. Now corporation leaders have hired a PR firm and a lawyer to tell their side of the story.
Federal tax documents obtained by NEWS7 show the Giles County Housing and Development Corporation hasn't paid required non-profit quarterly income tax returns for nearly a decade.
The GCHDC helps revitalize neighborhoods in Giles County and provides affordable housing to more than a hundred residents. It receives money from the county as well as from the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development.
Starting in April of last year and continuing through December, the IRS has placed tax leins on the GCHDC for unpaid taxes, penalties and interest in excess of 180 thousand dollars. Through a public relations firm, the Corporation says it actually owes, "$216,000 and three leaders of the organization may be personally liable for an additional $37,000 under IRS rules."
The Virginia State Police, acting on a tip, confirmed to NEWS7 on Thursday it is reviewing the case to see if it will launch a criminal investigation.
The corporation blames accounting errors for the unpaid taxes saying, "we should have known of our responsibilities but were not aware of our accounting firm's action."
Leaders also claim the accounting firm allowed its 501c3 non-profit status to expire. A former board member contacted NEWS7 saying he was voted off the board of directors at Tuesday meeting for raising questions about the IRS tax status. Leaders of the corporation are considering filing libel and slander suits against him through an attorney they hired this week.
The GCHDC further states:
"While painful in the short term, this will not affect our long-term mission to provide affordable housing to 150 low- to moderate-income individuals in Giles County. This experience has strengthened our resolve to be more proactive about tax issues in the future, and we are working diligently to resolve this situation as soon as possible."
