Multiple sources have indicated that the state has filed $452,888.40 of tax liens against Prairie Ridge Management of Veblen, South Dakota. These liens reportedly stem from the Veblen company's failure to pay sales, use, and excise taxes. The story going around Veblen is that Prairie Ridge Management didn't pay sales tax on some portion of the convoluted sales and services between the bankrupt Veblen East and Veblen West dairies and their several subsidiary and partner companies.
If these allegations are true, we taxpayers of South Dakota have been helping PRM exec Richard Millner and his cronies keep their failing dairies afloat with an involuntary, unlegislated tax subsidy. Consider that, according to the court brief filed by lawyers for AgStar* in the Veblen West bankruptcy case (Case 10-10071, Document 441, 2010.10.08), the Veblen West Dairy that PRM has managed reported positive (and, according to the brief, artificially inflated) revenues over the past five months of $240,000. Unpaid taxes of $452,888 from Prairie Ridge Management would slap a large negative sign on the front of that cash flow report.
But maybe such tax-dodging is just the revolution the teabaggers keep modeling. Has anyone seen Prairie Ridge Management staff at any tea party rallies? ;-)
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correction: I originally incorrectly attributed the brief to bankruptcy trustee Forrest C. Allred. The brief actually came from attorney Roger Damgaard and Sander Moorhead, representing AgStar. I also indicated the missing sales tax came from sales of specific goods, but I have not yet obtained the documentation to verify to which sales or services the taxes were applicable. I regret the errors.
This confuses me. I thought feed and fertilizer (manure) were sales tax exempt. I need more information.
ReplyDeleteNot defending anybody or accusing them either, but this site has provided good info in the past. This post leaves one confused, as it refers to arguments of the Trustee but links to arguments of the attorneys for AgStar. And where is the lien? Isn't that filed with the Bankruptcy Court?
ReplyDeleteNick, you may be right, I may be misprocessing some of the versions of the story I'm hearing on the grapevine. I'm hoping to have a PDF on this topic shortly. I am pretty confident on the dollar figure, just not on the goods/services from which that dollar figure is derived.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the correction Cory. Some bloggers are unable to ever admit a mistake or issue a correction. Good luck tracking this down. You are the only media source I know of reporting on this important issue.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Nick. This story is too important to screw up. If I get any part of it wrong, I want to know right away so I can fix it.
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