On December 20th 2019, just 4 days before Christmas, the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance seized over $20,000 from a small business’s Designated Employee Payroll Account. And as a direct and clearly foreseeable consequence of this enforcement action, a store-full of minimum wage workers weren't paid for two-weeks worth of work.
In other words, the workers, who have absolutely nothing to do with the tax debt, have no money for Christmas. They have money for food. No money for transportation. No money for baby formula. No money for diapers, or for any other necessity that most of us take for granted.
What makes this case so outrageous is that we were negotiating a payment plan whereby my client would pay the State $50,000 on Friday December 27th says David Selig of Selig & Associates. Then without warning the State went back on its word and seized the company’s entire payroll.
Ironically, the only people the Tax Department actually hurt, were the company's minimum wage workers, who are almost exclusively women of color, and mostly single mothers, says Selig.
But let’s keep it 100, says Selig, the State employees who carried out this financial pogrom are also people of color. So it’s hard for me to make sense of their actions, other than to say they’re just mean, and to a greater extent, foolish inasmuch as they consistently step over dollars to pick up nickels.
My client is a successful businessman who keeps an attorney and accountant on retainer. So when push comes to shove, he can always file for bankruptcy or pursue some other strategic course of action before the State can divest him of a single asset.
Conversely, his minimum wage workers are extremely vulnerable because they live paycheck to paycheck. And if they don’t return to work (because they weren’t paid) our client may never have to pay them. But don’t get it twisted, says Selig. No one at the State gives a damn about minimum wage workers either, so it’s hard to find the moral high ground. Nevertheless, it’s still frustrating because I tried like the Devil to get the State to release this levy and pay the workers - but it was all for naught.
On Tuesday December 24th 2019 the good folks at Metrotech refused to release the worker's pay, and eventually stopped answering my calls. I suppose the State employees went home to enjoy their paid holiday - while their undeserving victims are left to suffer. Seasons Greetings!
David Selig, CPCU Federal Tax Practitioner can be reached for comment at:
(212) 974-3435 or by email: Dselig@truetaxhelp.com
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