Criminal tax charges were recently upheld by the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals against an individual who withheld payroll taxes but failed to pay those amounts over to the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”). The defendant had been convicted of fifteen counts of Failure to Account for and Pay Over Withholding…
A Kansas woman will still face federal criminal tax charges for failure to pay payroll taxes after a federal court ruled the charges should not be dismissed simply because the taxes have since been paid. As tax litigation attorneys we frequently hear from clients who have been contacted by the…
Our tax attorneys continue to see businesses struggle with payroll tax problems. Whether you have 3 employees or 300, or whether you have downsized in response to the struggling economy, payroll tax audits can cause serious legal and financial problems that can threaten the survival of a business. The U.S.…
In a recent worker classification ruling SS8 2010030006 the IRS held that a part-time bookkeeper/general office worker was an employee and not an independent contractor. Generally the existence of an independent contractor relationship is based upon a 20 factor common law test set forth in Rev. Rul. 87-41, 1987-1 CB…
Frank L. Amodeo has serious criminal tax problems. The U.S. Department of Justice announced that he has been convicted in one of the biggest employment tax fraud cases in Internal Revenue Service (IRS) history. The penalties for these criminal tax charges exceed 22 years and he will be required to…
According to a report published by Tax Analysts, Assistant Attorney General Nathan Hochman, announced at a recent American Bar Association (ABA) meeting that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Department of Justice will be aggressively pursuing businesses with payroll tax problems. Hochman, who is the head tax lawyer for…
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has released IRS Publication 1779 with guidance for workers to help them determine whether they are employees or independent contractors. Interestingly IRS Publication 1779, which is only two pages does not specifically mention the 20 factor test set forth in IRS Revenue Ruling 87-41, 1987-1…
According to the Government Accountability Office (GAO) the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) hasn’t been doing a very good job collecting payroll taxes. Payroll taxes are amounts that employers withhold from employee wages for federal income taxes, Social Security, and Medicare (so called trust fund taxes) as well as the employer’s…
One of the important protections from the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) is a taxpayer’s right to obtain a hearing with the IRS Appeals Division before an IRS collection officer can issue a tax levy. This hearing is known as collection due process, or CDP hearing. CDP hearings are permitted by…
Internal Revenue Code § 6672 provides that so-called responsible persons who willfully fail to pay corporate payroll taxes may be held personally responsible for the payment of the trust fund portion of these taxes. Internal Revenue Code § 6672 is sometimes referred to as the trust fund recovery penalty (TFRP).…