What mechanisms do the IRS, EDD, or BOE have to pierce the veil of limited liability and hold individual(s) personally liable for trust taxes? The presentation provides an overview for personal liability issues for payroll taxes, sales taxes, and other excise taxes.
2. What mechanisms do the IRS, EDD, or
BOE have to pierce the veil of limited
liability and hold individual(s) personally
liable for trust taxes?
Introduction
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4. IRS PAYROLL TAXES
Any person required to collect, truthfully account
for, and pay over any tax imposed by this title who
willfully fails to collect such tax, or truthfully
account for and pay over such tax, or willfully
attempts in any manner to evade or defeat any
such tax or the payment thereof, shall, in addition
to other penalties provided by law, be liable to a
penalty equal to the total amount of the tax
evaded, or not collected, or not accounted for and
paid over. No penalty shall be imposed under
section 6653 or part II of subchapter A of chapter
68 for any offense to which this section is
applicable.
IRC §6672(a)
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5. Calculating TFRP
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The amount of the TFRP is equal to the unpaid
balance of:
1. Unpaid income taxes withheld, plus
2. The employee's portion of the withheld FICA
taxes.
6. When Do Problems Arise?
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Financial difficulties
Unsophisticated
Embezzlement
8. TFRP “Responsibility”
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Responsibility is a factual question, and title is not
controlling
Does the individual(s) have the authority/ability to
decide which creditors to pay and when such
payments should occur?
Indications of responsibility:
Authority to sign checks,
Control financial affairs of business,
Being an officer or an employee of a corporation, a member or
employee of a partnership, a corporate director or
shareholder, etc.
Authority listed in by-laws or management agreement,
Ability to hire and fire employees,
Signs 941’s,
Makes EFTPs payments.
9. TFRP “Willfulness”
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A person willfully fails to pay over taxes if he
acts or fails to act consciously and
voluntarily, knowing or intending that as a
result of his action or inaction trust funds
belonging to the government will not be
paid, but instead will be used for other
purposes.
Criminal “Willfulness” – a voluntary, intentional
violation of a known legal duty
TFRP “Willfulness” – voluntary, conscious, and
intentional – as opposed to accidental – decision
not to remit funds properly withheld to the
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Stated otherwise, willfulness is:
1. Responsible person was aware of unpaid payroll
taxes, possessed power to pay them, but
directed payments to other creditor(s), OR
2. Actions were grossly negligent or reckless
disregard of fact that taxes were due and not
being paid.
What is “gross negligence?”
11. How does the IRS go about a §6672
assessment?
Procedures in Assessment
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12. McLaughlin Legal
Federal Tax Deposit Alert
Assigned to Revenue Officer
1. Compliance
2. TFRP Investigation
Summons bank signature cards
4180 interview
4183 Recommendation1153(DO) Letter
AppealRefund
Appeals Conference
Refund
1 Employee, 1Quarter ($100)
Form 843
Judicial Appeal
(6 mon. or Notice of Disallowance)
U.S. District Court
Court of Federal Claims
Bankruptcy Court
Collections
1. OIC DATL
2. CDP
20. What do practitioners need to know and
gather?
Gathering Facts and
Information
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21. What to Know and Gather
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Contact information of all IRS personnel involved
All Form 941 for periods at issue
Corporate minute book, by-laws, management
agreement, articles of incorporation, etc.
Copy of bank signature card
Accounting of EFTPs payments
List of employees during period of issue and
payroll reports
List of all officers, directors, employees, etc. of
entity
22. What strategies can be used to defend
against a TFRP case?
Defending the TFRP
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23. TFRP Defense Techniques
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1. Lack of Knowledge
Generally not a defense to responsibility, but may be to
willfulness
2. Individual(s) do not have duty, status or authority
Check signing authority – important, but not necessarily
predicate
Compare authority to participate in company’s affairs and
authority to control payment of creditors (Vinickv. U.S.)
3. Nuremburg Defense – just following orders
Do the indvidual(s) exercise independent decision making
authority about which creditors get paid?
Designed to relieve clerical and similar personnel
What if they continue to work at the company after
discovering non-payment and confronting management?
24. TFRP Defense Techniques
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4. Timing
5. Establish negligence
Willfulness requires actual, gross negligence, or reckless disregard
6. “Reasonable Cause” – justification
10th, 5th, 3rd, 2nd, Federal Court of Claims
1st, 7th, 8th, 9th
7. Ability (inability) to pay by company or target individual(s)
Were there funds available?
Were they encumbered?
Newly responsible person?
IRM § 5.7.5.1 et seq.
8. Full pay
9. Pay down Trust Fund portion
IRM §5.7.4.4(2)
25. TFRP Defense Techniques
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10. In-Business Installment Agreement
11. Control investigation
Prepare own 4180
12. Point Fingers
Responsibility
Willfulness
Likelihood of collections
13. Statute of Limitations
26. EDD PAYROLL TAXES
Any officer, major stockholder, or other person, having charge of the
affairs of a corporate, association, registered limited liability
partnership or foreign limited liability partnership, or limited liability
company employing unit, who willfully fails to pay contributions
required by this division or withholdings required by Division 6
(commencing with Section 13000) on the date on which they
become delinquent, shall be personally liable for the amount of the
contributions, withholdings, penalties, and interest due and unpaid
by such employing unit. The director may assess such
officer, stockholder, or other person for the amount of such
contributions, withholdings, penalties, and interest. The provisions
of Article 8 (commencing with Section 1126) and Article 9
(commencing with Section 1176) of Chapter 4 of Part 1 apply to
assessments made pursuant to this section. Sections
1221, 1222, 1223, and 1224 shall apply to assessments made
pursuant to this section. With respect to such officer, stockholder, or
other person, the director shall have all the collection remedies set
forth in this chapter.
California Unemployment Insurance Code Section 1735
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27. EDD Payroll Taxes
Similarities to IRS TFRP
Elements – responsibility and willfulness
Differences with IRS TFRP
IRS – personal assessment limited to employee’s
portion (roughly 60%)
EDD – personal assessment for entire corporate
employer’s burden
Unemployment Insurance
Disability insurance
Employment training tax
Personal income tax withheld
Penalties (additional 10% under CUIC §1135)
Interest
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28. BOE SALES TAXES
(a) Upon the termination, dissolution, or abandonment of the business of a
corporation, partnership, limited partnership, limited liability partnership, or limited liability
company, any officer, member, manager, partner, or other person having control or supervision
of, or who is charged with the responsibility for the filing of returns or the payment of tax, or who
is under a duty to act for the corporation, partnership, limited partnership, limited liability
partnership, or limited liability company in complying with any requirement of this
part, shall, notwithstanding any provision in the Corporations Code to the contrary, be personally
liable for any unpaid taxes and interest and penalties on those taxes, if the
officer, member, manager, partner, or other person willfully fails to pay or to cause to be paid any
taxes due from the corporation, partnership, limited partnership, limited liability partnership, or
limited liability company pursuant to this part.
(b) The officer, member, manager, partner, or other person shall be liable only for taxes
that became due during the period he or she had the control, supervision, responsibility, or duty to
act for the corporation, partnership, limited partnership, limited liability partnership, or limited
liability company described in subdivision (a), plus interest and penalties on those taxes.
(c) Personal liability may be imposed pursuant to this section, only if the board can
establish that the corporation, partnership, limited partnership, limited liability partnership, or
limited liability company had included tax reimbursement in the selling price of, or added tax
reimbursement to the selling price of, tangible personal property sold in the conduct of its
business, or when it can be established that the corporation, partnership, limited
partnership, limited liability partnership, or limited liability company consumed tangible personal
property and failed to pay the tax to the seller or has included use tax on the billing and collected
the use tax or has issued a receipt for the use tax and failed to report and pay use tax.
California Revenue and Taxation Code §6829
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29. BOE Sales Taxes Continued
(d) For purposes of this section "willfully fails to pay or to cause to be paid"
means that the failure was the result of an intentional, conscious, and voluntary
course of action.
(e) Except as provided in subdivision (f), the sum due for the liability under this
section may be collected by determination and collection in the manner provided in
Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 6451) and Chapter 6 (commencing with
Section 6701).
(f) A notice of deficiency determination under this section shall be mailed
within three years after the last day of the calendar month following the quarterly
period in which the board obtains actual knowledge, through its audit or compliance
activities, or by written communication by the business or its representative, of the
termination, dissolution, or abandonment of the business of the
corporation, partnership, limited partnership, limited liability partnership, or limited
liability company, or, within eight years after the last day of the calendar month
following the quarterly period in which the corporation, partnership, limited
partnership, limited liability partnership, or limited liability company business was
terminated, dissolved, or abandoned, whichever period expires earlier. If a business
or its representative files a notice of termination, dissolution, or abandonment of its
business with a state or local agency other than the board, this filing shall not
constitute actual knowledge by the board under this section.
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Hinweis der Redaktion
Opening: discuss story, i.e., who has heard this story before …
Gross negligence is when fails to investigate or to correct mismanagement after having notice.
Lack of funds only if after-acquired funds encumbered or limitedTiming critical point is when liability rosePay down trust fund portion
1st, 5th, 8th Cir. have precedent that not quitting = TFRP
Timing – Teel v. US: knew had been arrearages, sold more merchndise to supply necessary wilfulnessAbility to pay – Slodovv. US: unencumbered funds may limit exposure, but precedent significantly erroded
terminated, dissolved, or abandoned,Control/responsibilityTiming (actually in control)WillfulTaxes collected