Senator Jim Justice, a Republican representing West Virginia, and his wife have agreed to pay the Internal Revenue Service more than $5 million to settle unpaid taxes from 2009, resolving part of a prolonged legal dispute the senator has characterised as politically motivated persecution rather than routine tax enforcement.
The settlement agreement, filed in federal court Monday, came within hours of the IRS filing a lawsuit against Justice and his wife, Cathy, accusing the couple of having “neglected or refused to make full payment” of their tax obligations for the 2009 tax year. In the complaint, the IRS stated that as of early August, the Justices owed more than $5.16 million in back taxes and accumulated interest from that year, representing more than 15 years of unpaid obligations and accruing penalties.
Under the terms of the settlement, the Justices have agreed to pay the full amount owed plus any additional interest charges that accrue before the balance is paid in full, though the filing submitted to the US District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia did not specify a deadline or establish a payment schedule for satisfying the multi-million-dollar obligation. The agreement, known legally as a consent judgment, was still awaiting a judge’s signature Tuesday morning to become officially binding.
A spokesperson for Justice’s Senate office did not respond to requests for comment about the settlement or the senator’s plans for satisfying the substantial tax debt.
Last month, Justice asserted during a news conference that the 2009 tax assessment levied against him and his wife in 2015, along with other subsequent tax assessments issued since then, were politically motivated actions targeting him due to his political prominence. “If you don’t think these are political moves, you’re crazy,” Justice told reporters gathered for the briefing. He suggested that President Joe Biden’s administration might have deliberately targeted him during his successful 2024 campaign for the US Senate seat, though he did not offer specific evidence supporting claims of political interference in tax enforcement proceedings.
A spokesperson for the Biden administration declined to comment on Justice’s assertions about political motivation behind IRS actions. Biden served as president when the IRS issued more recent tax assessments against the Justices for additional tax years, but he was serving as vice president in 2015 when the initial assessment for missed 2009 taxes was issued, limiting his influence over agency decisions at that time. Biden had already left the White House by the time the IRS filed tax lien notices against the Justices earlier this year for being in arrears across multiple tax years spanning more than a decade.
Justice also claimed during the news conference that he was pursuing claims against the IRS for what he asserted, without providing supporting documentation or evidence, were approximately $40 million in outstanding tax refunds the agency allegedly owed him from prior years. He predicted confidently that he and his spouse would ultimately “end up with significantly more dollars from the IRS than what we owe the IRS” once all disputes are resolved through legal proceedings. He added: “It’s just a situation we’ve got to go through,” characterising the protracted tax disputes as an unfortunate but manageable circumstance.
Justice’s substantial wealth, derived primarily from coal mining operations and extensive business holdings, has generated tax complications throughout his political career. The senator’s business empire has faced numerous tax liens and legal disputes over unpaid obligations to federal, state, and local governments, with regulators and creditors pursuing payment for various debts accumulated across multiple jurisdictions.
The $5 million settlement resolves only the 2009 tax year obligations, leaving unresolved any disputes regarding other tax years for which the IRS has issued assessments or filed liens. The broader scope of Justice’s tax obligations remains unclear, as the senator has not publicly disclosed comprehensive information about outstanding assessments beyond the 2009 year now settled.
