AUGUSTA — Senate President Charles P. Pray issued a statement Thursday acknowledging that a tax dispute with the Internal Revenue Service has prompted the government to place a lien on his business.

Records on file at the Penobscot County Registry of Deeds show that the lien was received on Jan. 25. The IRS charges that Pray’s cottages and general store owed $5,040.86 for the tax period ending Sept. 30, 1989, and $5,218.94 through Dec. 31, 1989.

Pray is out of state this week and issued the statement through his State House office. He did not detail the specifics of his dispute with the agency, but asserted that it centered on “which months we were in fact open,” and on how much tax was owed for 1989.

“I am confident that I have met my obligations fully,” the Millinocket Democrat said.