A few companies account for huge part of past-due Beaufort County property taxes

With Friday’s deadline looming to pay past-due taxes and avoid Monday’s Beaufort County’s property auction, there are still roughly 1,000 delinquent accounts with a combined balance of about $3 million in taxes, fees and penalties.

A large chunk of that figure is made up of a small handful of companies, with several firms each owing well over $100,000 spread over dozens of individual properties.

One such company is Daufuskie Embarkment LLC, which operates a Daufuskie Island boat landing and is a subsidiary of Utah-based resort developer Pelorus Group.

As of earlier this week, the firm owed more than $103,000 on 15 individual properties, according to Beaufort County treasurer’s office data.

When you factor in back taxes owed by a host of other Pelorus Group affiliates, such as FIG Daufuskie 1 LLC and FIG Beach Club LLC, the balance approaches $500,000.

Pelorus Group managing partner J.T. Bramlette said earlier this week that he is aware of the company’s tax situation.

“We are working through the final numbers and the taxes will get paid,” he said.

The company has a history of run-ins with government agencies and legal issues — Bramlette is personally listed as a defendant in at least four Beaufort County civil lawsuits since 2013.

Last fall, the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control discovered two underground tanks used to store gasoline and diesel fuel at the boat landing were not in compliance with state regulations. Daufuskie Embarkment was hit with a $35,000 fine.

The firm H2 Associates LLC, former owner of the Metropolitan Hotel on Hilton Head Island, has also struggled with delinquent taxes and butted head with public bodies.

The company owes back taxes of more than $104,000, according to treasurer’s office data generated earlier this week.

That total is spread over 73 properties — by far the most properties owned by a single entity on the county delinquent tax list.

Before H2 Associates and partner firm New California Hotels Corp. sold the Metropolitan last year, Hilton Head Island town building officials spent months hounding the ownership group to tear down or rehabilitate a vacant and dilapidated building on hotel property.

A decade ago, New California Hotels owner Remo Polselli was sentenced to 27 months in federal prison and made to pay $2.9 million in restitution on three counts of felony tax evasion.

Neither Polselli nor any H2 Associates representatives could be reached for comment.

It is unclear whether H2 Associates or New California Hotels — which was at one time headquartered in Laguna Beach, Ca. — are still in business.

Neither entity has a functional website or listed phone number, nor are they members of the South Carolina Restaurant and Lodging Association, the California Hotel and Lodging Association, or the Laguna Beach Chamber of Commerce.

While both H2 Associates and Daufuskie Embarkment also owed back taxes last year, county documents show that the balances were paid before company property was sold at auction.

More than 20 other firms and individuals owe delinquent taxes on at least five properties, according to county data.

Beaufort County Treasurer Maria Walls said earlier this week that is not uncommon for property owners — in many cases the same owners year after year — to wait until the bitter end before paying their taxes.

“We see a flurry of payments just before and after” the list of delinquent properties is published, she said. “... The last week before the tax sale has traditionally been crazy.”

In some cases, the procrastination may be an intentional business decision or simply a result of an inability to pay, Walls said.

But in other cases, the property owner may not be aware they owe the county a penny.

Many people with second homes or commercial space in the county live outside of the region, so they may not see past-due notice signs posted on their property, or they miss reminder letters if their mailing address isn’t up to date with the her office, Walls said.

In regard to tax collection techniques, “we need to treat everybody equitably,” Walls said.

This story was originally published September 29, 2016 at 12:58 PM with the headline "A few companies account for huge part of past-due Beaufort County property taxes."