A payroll and staffing company run by the man picked by former Gov. Rick Scott to chair the state board that reviews licensing applications for employee leasing companies has a $15 million outstanding federal tax lien for unpaid unemployment taxes.

Zach Collier, 27, chairman and director of Lightsource HR Holding Company, began his appointment as chairman of the Board of Employee Leasing Companies in February. He was first appointed to the board, which reviews licensing applications, in December 2017.

Gov. Ron DeSantis has purged more than 200 Scott appointees since taking office. Because Collier's appointment was previously confirmed by the Senate, the governor cannot rescind the appointment except in the case of malfeasance, misfeasance, neglect of duty and/or incompetence as related to official duties.

Lightsource is an Orlando firm specializing in HR needs including payroll, insurance, staffing, recruiting, employee management, training, and consulting.

Collier also is president and CEO of Countrywide Payroll and HR Solutions, with the same Orlando address. It was founded in 2013 and is listed as active but has ceased operations, said Tucker Byrd, attorney for Lightsource and Countrywide. Lightsource was founded in Florida on Dec. 28, 2016.

A Notice of Federal Tax Lien obtained by the Democrat shows that Countrywide Payroll has an unpaid balance of $15.25 million for 2015. The assessment was made in August 2017, and a notice was issued on June 1.

The tax lien is a “legacy issue which the company is in the process of resolving,” Byrd said.

It’s the least complicated of the issues his firm is handling for Countrywide, he said. Countrywide is both plaintiff and defendant in several civil lawsuits involving former clients.

In 2015 Countrywide was delayed in filing its tax returns due to technical issues with computers and data. Because they were delayed, the IRS assessed the full federal unemployment tax owed, assuming there was no corresponding state unemployment tax paid during that period.

“When you pay state unemployment tax it is credited against the federal unemployment tax,” Byrd said. Once the state tax is applied, he said the amount owed the IRS will be around $200,000.

“The company is working with IRS agents to file a final corrected tax return, which we believe will dramatically reduced on the amount owed,” Byrd said.