TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas Transportation Secretary Mike King says he has paid an income tax bill of more than $250,000 after the IRS filed a tax lien against him last month.

King tells The Wichita Eagle that the amount was the balance of personal income tax that he and his wife owed from the sale of his construction company in 2012.

King says he had been making payments on the debt and was surprised by the lien. He says he doesn’t know why the IRS filed it.

An IRS spokesman says the agency can’t comment on specific cases.

King says the original amount of taxes owed from the sale was more than $400,000.