Police have arrested Jonathan Cohen, sole owner of JKC Communications Clara Communications and Radio 95, for failure to file and pay corporate and individual income taxes for several years, the V.I. Department of Justice and Internal Revenue Bureau announced Wednesday.
JKC Communications is the parent company of the Isle 95, Sunny 99.5 FM, Mongoose 104.9FM, AM 970-WSTX and WSTX FM-100 radio stations.
According to a statement from Government House, the arrest is one of many more to come as a result of work by the Tax Collection Task Force. The task force is jointly headed by Attorney General Vincent Frazer and IRB Director Claudette Watson Anderson.
"There are many individuals who continue to cheat the Virgin Islands government by failing to file and/or pay taxes, and the task force is putting together the pieces of the puzzle needed to bring these individuals to justice,” Frazer said in a statement.
Cohen is charged with failure to file taxes for a seven-year period from 2004 through 2010. The government alleges that Cohen and his corporations had collective gross income in excess of $10 million during the period of time alleged in the complaint and failed to pay taxes owed to the Government of the Virgin Islands. The government alleges Cohen also failed to file gross receipts tax returns for the same period.
“For far too long, too many have been getting away with not filing or paying their fair share of taxes and, through the work of the task force, it is our goal to bring these individuals to justice and collect any outstanding payments owed,” Frazer said.
The U.S. Internal Revenue Service assisted the IRB in the investigation of this case and will continue to assist the V.I. Government in the upcoming cases, according to Government House.
