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Ms. Latos did not receive a notice of deficiency with
respect to her taxable year 1998. Nor did she otherwise have an
opportunity to dispute the underlying tax liability for that
year. We shall review that liability on a de novo basis. Sego
v. Commissioner, 114 T.C. at 610. Ms. Latos advances essentially
the same arguments here with respect to Ms. Latos’ unpaid 1998
liability that she and Mr. Anderson advanced, and the Court
rejected, in Anderson v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 2003-112, with
respect to their unpaid income tax liability for each of their
taxable years 1996 and 1997. For the reasons stated in Anderson
17(...continued)
entitled to challenge the underlying tax liability for each of
her taxable years 1996 and 1997, we reject her argument with
respect to each such liability for the reasons stated in Anderson
v. Commissioner, supra. In this connection, we note that Ms.
Latos also relies in the instant cases on United States v.
Galletti, 541 U.S. 114 (2004), a case that the Supreme Court of
the United States (Supreme Court) decided after the Court issued
Anderson. Ms. Latos’ reliance on Galletti is misplaced. The
issue presented in Galletti was whether the proper assessment of
income tax that a partnership was required to withhold under sec.
3403 extended the period of limitations to collect such tax from
the partnership’s general partners who were liable for the
payment of the partnership’s debts. United States v. Galletti,
supra. The Supreme Court held that it did. Id. The Supreme
Court did not hold in Galletti that an employer is responsible
for paying the income tax liability of an employee of such
employer. Id. As the United States Court of Appeals for the
Second Circuit held in Church v. Commissioner, 810 F.2d 19, 20
(2d Cir. 1987):
It is clear that the failure of an employer to meet its
obligation to withhold income tax does not in any way
lessen the obligation of an employee to pay income tax.
Indeed, we have long since rejected the contrary posi-
tion even in the context of a criminal prosecution.
[Citations omitted.]
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