From the get-go, the Shreveport Aquarium has had major challenges in paying its bills.

At one time, unpaid construction companies had filed liens totaling in excess of $238,000 for unpaid moneys against the aquarium.

Caddo Parish records currently show four unpaid construction liens in excess of $177,770. It is an open question if these companies have now been paid.

The latest evidence of possible financial instability is a Notice of Federal Tax Lien filed on Nov. 15 by the U. S. Treasury against the aquarium.

The lien listed 941 taxes for the period ending Dec. 31, 2019, in the amount of $15,339 and for the period ending March 31, 2020, in the amount of $31,301, for a total lien amount of $46,640.

IRS 941 taxes are Social Security and Medicare taxes that are withheld from employee paychecks along with the matching portions due by the employer. The employee withholdings are deducted by employers in trust, with the obligation to remit to the U.S. Treasury.

The IRS is notoriously slow in filing 941 tax liens. This filing probably indicates that 941 taxes have not been remitted for the last quarter of 2019 through the third quarter of this year.

It’s a frequent practice of businesses experiencing cash flow problems not to pay to the Treasury the 941 taxes and spend the employee withholdings on other pressing business expenses.

The lien names the Shreveport Aquarium, LLC as the delinquent taxpayer. The Louisiana Secretary of State lists Jonathan Whitehead as the officer of this entity.

The Shreveport City Council approved a long-term lease with Planet Aqua Group for the Barnwell Center in October 2016. The aquarium opened in November 2017.

The IRS has the authority to lock the aquarium doors in addition to seizing bank accounts and asserting other creditor rights.

The trust portion of the 941 taxes cannot be discharged or reduced in bankruptcy 
actions.