COLUMBIA – A Richland Two school board member has racked up more than $57,000 in county and state tax liens since 2012.
Documents reviewed by The Voice show that James Shadd has been slapped with nine tax liens totaling $57,173.87, including one as recently as May 8 of this year. The liens were filed in response to unpaid income taxes, documents show.
Only three of the nine liens have been satisfied, accounting for $7,107 in debt payments made, leaving him $50,066.81 still in arrears, according to the S.C. Department of Revenue online database and an agency spokeswoman.
School board trustees have oversight of the district’s $301.2 million budget, with roughly one-third ($107.1 million) subsidized by local property taxes, the district’s 2019-2020 budget states.
Trustees also decide other substantial budgetary matters, such as voting to place a nearly $382 million bond referendum question on the November 2018 ballot.
Shadd said he’s working to resolve the tax liens, calling them a “personal matter.”
“I am actively working to make sure that I take care of those matters,” he said.
Shadd didn’t think owing $50,000 in unpaid income taxes impedes his ability to vote on multi-million dollar budget matters.
“I am one of a seven-member board that votes on the budget, absolutely,” Shadd said. “But like I said, this is a personal matter which we are handling. I don’t see a conflict in making decisions on behalf of our students, our teachers, and our staff with regard to that.”
Shadd’s first listed lien totaling $5,395.79 and filed Sept. 10, 2012 was satisfied June 17, 2019, according to the Department of Revenue registry and an agency spokeswoman.
Another lien totaling $1,386.25 and filed November 7, 2014 was satisfied June 24, 2015. A third lien totaling $325.06 and filed August 10, 2015 was settled April 22, 2016, records show.
Six liens remain active, including one filed last month that totals $11,958.62. It includes $9,933 in unpaid income tax plus penalties, interest and fees, according to the database.
The other five liens are also linked to unpaid income taxes. Two are associated with his business, Shadd Law Firm, LLC.
Here’s a breakdown of the six active liens as listed in the Department of Revenue registry:
- December 29, 2014—$11,659.01
- March 23, 2017—$2,573.92
- March 30, 2017—$6,587.40
- April 12, 2019—$10,055.91
- April 12, 2019—$7,331.91
- May 8, 2020—$11,958.62
Shadd has faced other financial difficulties as well.
In July 2012, JPMorgan Chase Bank filed a foreclosure lawsuit against Shadd, saying in the litigation that he stopped making mortgage payments in November 1, 2011, according to Richland County circuit court records.
The case, however, was dismissed in June 2013, records show.
In 2019, the state Ethics Commission fined Shadd $1,400 relating to disclosure forms associated with his run for county solicitor.
Other Richland Two board trustees have faced financial difficulties as well. Most notably, trustee Amelia McKie owes $51,750 in fines for failing to file various ethics forms.
A judgment in that amount was entered into Richland County circuit court in July 2019, though there’s no indication whether or not the judgment has been satisfied.
Trustee Monica Elkins-Johnson has three prior tax liens, though the amounts were not immediately available. All three have been satisfied, the most recent one in 2014, the Department of Revenue database shows.
The department’s database went online November 1, 2019. It was created after passage of a Senate bill that called for greater tax lien transparency.
Any member of the public can search the Department of Revenue registry for individuals or businesses facing state tax liens, according to a news release.
The registry only lists state tax liens and remain on the registry for 10 years, though liens that are expunged are removed from the registry, the release said.
