Schiffmann v. United States

Richard Schiffmann and Stephen Cummings were officers of ICOA, Inc. (ICOA), a corporation that struggled to stay current on federal trust fund tax - or payroll tax - obligations. After Schiffmann and Cummings were fired, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) made trust fund recovery penalty assessments against Schiffmann and Cummings. Schiffman filed suit seeking to recover the sums previously seized from him and to nullify the assessments. The government counterclaimed against Schiffman, Cummings, and others seeking to recover the remainder of the overdue taxes and penalties. Cummings, in turn, counterclaimed against the government seeking to nullify the assessments against him. The district court entered summary judgment for the government on its counterclaims and on the claims asserted by Schiffmann and Cummings, concluding that, as a matter of law, Schiffmann and Cummings were responsible persons who had acted willfully in not paying ICOA’s trust fund taxes. The First Circuit affirmed, holding that the district court did not err in concluding that Schiffmann and Cummings were responsible persons who had willfully caused ICOA to shirk its payroll tax obligations. View "Schiffmann v. United States" on Justia Law