Case: Business Owner Willfully Failed to Remit Payroll Taxes; Liable for Recovery Penalties (E.D.N.Y.) (IRC §6672)

The government was entitled to summary judgment against a business owner for over $2.4 million in trust fund recovery penalties, held the district court. Taxpayer, the owner and president of a bridge painting and cleaning business from 2011, when he purchased it from his wife, until its bankruptcy in 2013, was assessed trust fund recovery penalties for the company’s failure to remit withheld payroll taxes for multiple quarters during the 2011-2013 tax years. After Taxpayer’s wife filed a refund and abatement suit pursuant to I.R.C. §6672, the government initiated a counterclaim against Taxpayer to collect the penalties. As Taxpayer did ...