Why do Peter Stephan and the Tax Resolution Institute take the issue of unpaid payroll taxes so seriously? The consequences of not paying your payroll taxes and willfully withholding payment to the IRS can be severe. In the criminal case of a husband & wife hair salon owners in Orange County, the criminal withholding of payroll taxes led to stiff prison sentences. Such an outcome does not have to happen to you and your business if your payroll tax problems have just begun. We understand that meeting payroll taxes can be a challenge in a difficult economy. But if such a challenge arises, it must be addressed.
Paying Payroll Taxes
Laguna Niguel residents John D. Pham and Anna A. Nguyen were more than your average married couple. Since 1985, the couple operated numerous hair salons under the Fantastic Sams franchise name in cities across Orange County. By failing to pay their payroll taxes and defrauding the Franchise Tax Board of California and the Internal Revenue Service, the couple received stiff prison sentences.
On October 1, 2009, Pham was sentenced to over three years in prison after pleading guilty to willfully failing to account for and pay income and Social Security taxes withheld from the wages his employees. Although Pham and his wife had incorporated 10 companies from 1996 to 2004, all of which failed to pay payroll taxes, the main charge involved the employees of the Fantastic Sams franchises.
Hair Cutting Franchises in Orange County
Anna A. Nguyen, Pham’s estranged wife, was sentenced to five months in prison after pleading guilty to conspiring with Pham to defraud the United States by preventing the Internal Revenue Service from collecting taxes owed. Lasting almost a decade, the couple’s conspiracy added up to a loss of over $770,000 of payroll taxes that were never paid to the government.
In addition, the couple avoided paying their income taxes as well, and Nguyen pleaded guilty to owing more than $80,000 in federal income tax liabilities. They diverted assets from the corporations they controlled for their own personal benefit. As a result, they will have to pay joint restitution in the future of over $620,000 to the IRS.
It is clear that the couple were part of an ongoing criminal conspiracy. If you are having payroll tax problems with your business, it does not mean that you are part of such a conspiracy. Instead, you simply could be experiencing the challenges of a tough economy. As a direct result, Peter Stephan and the Tax Resolution Institute are here to make sure the consequences do not threaten your financial security and the future of your company. Rather than wait for a miracle to happen, take a positive action today to find a resolution and avoid such drastic consequences.
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