IRS seeks more than $200,000 from Highland County

By Rory Ryan
The Highland County Press

The Internal Revenue Service has issued two recent penalty notices to the office of Highland County Auditor Alex Butler.

Those notices were provided by Butler following a public records request by The Highland County Press.

In a notice dated May 8, the IRS charged the county a penalty under Section 6722 of the Internal Revenue Code for "failure to furnish payee statements or required information."

That penalty totaled $229,067.86, with a due date of May 22, 2023.

The IRS added: "If you believe you have reasonable cause why we shouldn't charge these penalties, you may send us an explanation and ask us to remove or reduce any of the penalties we have charged. Send us a specific explanation for each penalty you wish us to remove or reduce by May 22, 2023. Please include any documents that will support your position. If you agree with the penalty, please send the amount due now."

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• In an IRS notice dated April 24, 2023, the county was charged a penalty under Section 6721 of the Internal Revenue Code for "failure to file correct information returns." This penalty totaled $114,520 and was due by May 8, 2023. (This balance may be included in the notice dated May 8.)

"I did speak with a representative from the IRS and requested more detailed information of what constitutes this penalty," Butler told The Highland County Press on May 17. "At this point in time, I am unsure of the origin of this penalty and how long it has existed."

Butler was sworn in as county auditor on March 10.