According to Law360, he wife of a man found liable for construction company employment taxes is off the hook for $2 million in liabilities, a New York federal jury found, saying she was not responsible for collecting the taxes and paying them over to the federal government in Martha Gonzalez v. U.S., case number 2:22-cv-03370, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York.
The jury unanimously found Friday that Martha Gonzalez, who had sued the government in 2022 to release her from liens related to the debt, was not responsible for collecting five quarters' worth of employment taxes in 2012 and 2013 for Camabo Industries Inc., in which she formerly owned shares.
The vote followed a five-day trial in which Gonzalez made the case that, as stated in a pretrial order, she "did not manage the company's day-to-day functions, had no control over the tax, financial, or business operations of Camabo" and "did not prepare, review, sign or file any employment tax returns on Camabo's behalf."
Gonzalez claimed the Internal Revenue Service had threatened to seize her property for years over the liabilities "in a bid to hold her personally liable in what can only be described as a strategy of trying to establish responsibility by association."
In October, a New York federal judge found that her husband, Boris Gonzalez, was liable for the taxes. The government sought to hold Martha Gonzalez liable as well, filing a counterclaim against her complaint seeking a money judgment for the trust fund recovery penalties the IRS had assessed against her. As of December, that balance was roughly $2 million, according to a pretrial order.
The government argued in a response to her complaint that:
- she and her husband both had signature authority on at least one of Camabo's bank accounts during the tax periods at issue.
- They both made purchases against the account using business debit cards in their names.
- Both of them lived at the address, which was the same address of the company.
- Martha Gonzalez had loaned the company money and was a co-debtor with her husband regarding certain company liabilities, the government said. and
- Martha Gonzalez was listed as the chairman of Camabo until at least 2017, with her husband claiming to be its president, the government said.
In a pretrial order, the government said Martha Gonzalez "purportedly" sold the business to her husband in 2011.
It argued she should be considered a person responsible for collecting the taxes from Camabo's workers under Internal Revenue Code Section 6672 and that she willfully failed to comply with the requirements to turn over the money to the IRS.
But Martha Gonzalez said in the pretrial order that she had no control over the company's finances at the time that would make her responsible for the tax payments.
Thinking of Borrowing From Your Company's
Payroll Tax Withholdings?
You Better Thank Again, if You Like Your Freedom!
Have Payroll Tax Problems?
Contact the Tax Lawyers at
Marini & Associates, P.A. 
for a FREE Tax HELP Contact Us at:
www.TaxAid.com or www.OVDPLaw.com
or Toll Free at 888-8TaxAid (888-882-9243)
Read more at: Tax Times blog
