38 Studios owes city $488,808 in taxes

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) – Former Red Sox star Curt Schilling’s defunct video game company owes the city nearly $500,000 in tangible property taxes, internal auditor Matthew Clarkin said Thursday.

In a report delivered to members of the City Council Finance Committee, Clarkin said the city has little chance of collecting on any of 38 Studios’ $488,808 tangible tax bill for the 2012 calendar year.

“It is very unlikely that the city will receive this tax payment from the now bankrupt company,” Clarkin said in his report.

Clarkin projects that 38 Studios’ inability to pay taxes along with an increase in owner-occupied homestead exemptions will cause the city to fall about $3.1 million short on tax collections for the year. 

• Timeline: How the 38 Studios deal unfolded

38 Studios filed for bankruptcy last June less than two years after the state’s Economic Development Corporation (EDC) approved a $75 million taxpayer-backed loan guarantee to lure the company from Massachusetts.

In October, the company auctioned off what was left of the property in its downtown office, including computers, laser printers, office supplies and a telephone system. State officials said the auction brought in about $650,000.

In November, the state filed a 17-count suit against Schilling, former EDC executive director Keith Stokes and other architects of the deal in hopes of recouping the nearly $100 million Rhode Islanders could owe to cover the loan.

On Thursday, the Associated Press reported that Schilling is selling a bloody sock he wore in Game 2 of the 2004 World Series. The sock is expected sell for at least $100,000.

Dan McGowan ( dmcgowan@wpri.com ) covers politics and the city of Providence for WPRI.com. Follow him on Twitter: @danmcgowan