I hear that Cuba isn't really all that bad of a place to live. That'll buy time until Castro dies and it becomes part of the United States.
If I were you, I would call them and ask to speak to someone with authority and tell them the letter is a mistake, but before you call, make sure you gather all your evidence though.
What type of company is it? Corporation? Partnership? LLC? Putting assets in your wifes name really wont help to the IRS your considered one, Unless you filed seperate returns.
You're not paying taxes on YOUR earnings. You're paying taxes on the company's earnings. My guess, but this wasn't incorporated as a corporation. If it was, then the company itself gets taxed. Ownership doesn't have any liability regarding bankruptcy, etc.. The company operates as its own independent entity. In this case, you probably worked for a limited liability corporation which means any owners pick up the slack if the company goes bankrupt and taxes are split among owners as opposed to being billed to the corporation. You're being asked to pay a share of the company's taxes that are overdue. These aren't taxes on your personal income, its taxes on the company's net income. Take this stuff very seriously man, get yourself a lawyer and an accountant and figure this out ASAP. You DO NOT ever want to f*ck with the IRS.
I know attorney fees are expensive but an attorney will not bill you for listening to your situation tell him the problem with the irs and your plan to sue the ceo.. he sues the ceo, takes care of irs, and you give him xx% of whatever you can get from the ceo
Take this from a bankruptcy lawyer who deals with IRS issues in a bankruptcy context a lot. GET A TAX LAWYER!!!! I cannot stress this enough. Trying to work out a $500k problem directly with the IRS and getting a statement from your former employer may or may not be sufficient. You are talking about a federal tax lien and your credit. Get competent representation. If your lawyer tells you that the letter from the CEO is sufficient, then you can probably get an opinion letter from the lawyer at a fairly low cost. Then you have some legal cites to hang your hat on. My question is why would the CEO admit to perjury on the corporate tax forms on a bankrupt corp? It sounds like you are wlaking a dangerous line here...be careful and seek the advice of a tax attorney who would have your best interest in mind.
I play a business attorney on TV and will second Refman's advice to consult a tax or business attorney. If you can't afford one, try the free legal advice offered by the Houston Bar Association: http://www.hba.org/public-legalline.html Also be aware, if the tax is for employment taxes not paid by your employer, persons other than owners may be responsible (for example, persons with authority over the payroll accounts). If the tax is for the company's profits and you weren't an owner, no worries mate, as long as you can prove a negative to the IRS. < legal disclaimer - your mileage may vary and I ain't your attorney >
I am a bankruptcy lawyer, too..and this is DEFINTELY good advice. These IRS issues can get very thorny.
iirc, there is an arcane instance when shareholders do have an additional liability... something to do w/ par value if I recall. Very rare though. But overall I agree. Windfern, you need a tax attorney asap. It's good that he's doing some of the legwork, e.g. a notarized letter from owner. And did he even mention how you ended up as an owner? Are you a minority? Were they pursuing gov contracts? Anyway, I wouldn't blindly trust this owner. You need legal help, and I would also ask the same attorney whether you would have recourse to sue the previous owner to cover your legal expenses and maybe some of your grief.
My wife used to litigate for DOJ.....her only client was the IRS, and she said the majority of her cases revolved around just this (withholding violations). I'd be willing to bet money (not a half million dollars though) that this is what is happening. Hopefully Windfern didn't have the ability to sign checks in his capacity of being "just an employee." My wife said the same thing: GET AN ATTORNEY!! She also added that NOW is the time to address this matter........don't wait until it gets ugly.
The IRS didn't tell you what exactly you need to prove your case, that means so far all you have is guesswork. Seek legal advice. You'd better break your piggy bank than the possibility of owing the government half a million dollars.
I'm in New York, actually... and very much a novice in the profession. (But not enough of a novice to not know that you are right about needing a lawyer in this situation. One of my collegues at the office has been handling a rather annoying IRS related case.)
The IRS cases can get to be very problematic. I had one a while back that needed 4 hearings and 2 sets of briefs. I won it eventually. I have been representing debtors in consumer cases for almost 5 years. Welcome to the practice. I would not recommend that anybody go up against the IRS alone.
