Payroll Tax Problems Cannot be Solved by Payment after Criminal Tax Charges Filed

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 IRS criminal investigation division. Their first reaction is, “I will get the taxes paid can you get the IRS to drop the charges?” Unfortunately at that point simply paying the taxes will rarely solve the problem by itself. Payroll taxes cases usually turn criminal because the tax problem has been ignored for far too long.

In this case, the employer was charged with seven counts of failing to pay over trust fund taxes (income taxes and FICA), which had been withheld from employees’ pay. The tax violations allegedly occurred between 2003 and 2005. She submitted evidence in 2010 that she had turned over to the Internal Revenue Service all unpaid taxes. She argued the charges should be dismissed since the taxes had been paid.

The government argued payment did not “cure” her of the violations or immunize her from prosecution. It was a novel legal question not addressed in case law. Section 7202 of U.S. tax law states: “Any person required under this title to collect, account for, and pay over any tax imposed by this title who willfully fails to collect or truthfully account for and pay over such tax shall . . . be guilty of a felony. . . .”

The defendant noted the law makes no reference to a “due date” or other time frame. Section 7203 does make reference to a time frame when it states “at the time or times required by law or regulations.”

The court ruled that the statute’s wording “failure to pay over” necessarily encompasses late payments by any common sense standard. Additionally, the court ruled the defendant’s interpretation of the law would make it the only area of criminal law in which a crime could be undone at any time until conviction.

The defendant was also charged with two counts of failure to pay individual income taxes, which were not addressed in the court decision.

If you are facing a payroll tax audit or other business tax issues, contact the tax attorneys at the Brager Tax Law Group, A.P.C. for a confidential appointment to discuss your rights. Call 310-208-6200.