IRS slaps tax lien on Pahrump Senior Center

The Pahrump Senior Center was slapped with an $18,731 tax lien by the Internal Revenue Service Dec. 23, according to documents on file at the Nye County Recorder’s Office.

The IRS listed five unpaid assessments for violations of not paying taxes on withholding income from employee paychecks for federal income, Social Security and Medicare taxes dating back to 2010.

According to lien documents, $3,598.35 is owed for the tax period ending Sept. 30, 2011, another $1,526.05 assessment for March 31, 2012, $213.14 for Sept. 30, 2012 and $6,119.10 for the tax period ending March 31, 2013. The lien also lists a tax due of $7,274.97 for the tax period ending Dec. 31, 2010.

“We missed a payment on the payroll taxes. That will all be resolved and that lien will be lifted by the end of the month,” Pahrump Senior Center Inc. President Jim Gronemann said. “We missed one (payment), we took care of some other bills, then we had back payments on that one, then we missed another one.”

Gronemann said he attributed the error to the economy. It’s like a mechanic’s lien, which will be placed on the property, he said.

He added the amounts due include penalties and interest.

Gronemann urged Pahrump seniors not to panic, the senior center will continue to function as usual.

“We’ll still be here serving the finest meals in Pahrump for $3,” he said.

That’s an increase of $1 from the $2 price normally charged at the senior center; Gronemann attributed the increase to higher food costs.

The senior center can tap into some donors and other resources to pay off the debt, he said.

Nye County Treasurer Richard Billman said the nonprofit corporation doesn’t pay any property taxes. The former head of a credit collections company, Billman said the tax lien won’t affect the senior center immediately but could have an effect on their ability to get grants and donations.

“People get panicky over that,” Billman said. But he added, “usually those things can be ironed out with the IRS.”

Nye County Commissioner Butch Borasky said the Pahrump Senior Center is its own operating entity.

He says he will attend the next meeting of the Pahrump Senior Center board. The other officers of Pahrump Senior Center Inc. besides Gronemann listed on the Nevada Secretary of State’s website include secretary-treasurer Shirley Roach and trustee Mel Clark.

“We started questioning them about audits and things and told them they owed us some back money for maintenance on their vehicles, because we do it at our garage. We’ve been having a hard time trying to collect, too,” Borasky said. “They rejected any further funding from the county when we pursued the issue of auditing.”