Ohio State Attorney General assigned 'special counsel' lawyer for tax debt collection
I have a friend that just produced a demand letter from a debt collector attorney, on ohio state attorney general letterhead, for an alleged back taxes obligation (says he paid up every quarter, and no way ever made enough to get anywhere close enough to the $54k (of state taxes) demand.
1. Looks like debt collectors can used state ag letterhead http://codes.ohio.gov/orc/109.08
How does one find out if this lawyers office actually has permission from the ohio state ag.
2. The demand letter has the 'this is an attempt to collect a debt' language. So it's under FDCA etc? I've never heard of lawyers collecting 'debt' for taxes.
Do states sell off back taxes to debt collectors? And if so, does that change anything about the debt collection defense? http://codes.ohio.gov/orc/109.08 seems to imply that the lawyers are paid from amounts collected (thus implying that debt collectors aren't buying the 'tax debt' for pennies on the dollar).
3. A google search for Michael H. Igoe & Associates LLC doesn't bring up anything other than 1 negative review on the BBB site. https://www.bbb.org/centralohio/business-reviews/lawyers/michael-h-igoe-associates-llc-in-columbus-oh-70017823/reviews-and-complaints?section=reviews&reviewtype=negative
4. Is there any place I should look for info about this kind of scenario? I don't see anything relevant searching the forums.
5. Similar to #2, is this scenario the same, or different, from a regular credit card debt being collected by a debt collection company/lawyer?
I can't imagine the gov't would let tax obligation become equivalent to regular debt collection, but hey, maybe.
I'm having him call the AG
I'm having him call the AG and state tax dept to get more info. He said he paid his quarterlies and doesn't owe anything, but the state AG did take/keep his state tax refund.
Unless there was a major mistake on state's end, the $45k or whatever the lawyer says he owes is trumped up charges/fees.
I'm curious what the state says when he calls.
Important question: If/when a state has a 'special counsel' collect delinquent tax obligations,
- did the state sell the tax obligation and it's not regular 'debt'?
- is that debt now like all other delinquent debt, or is there special magical rules when a debt collector is collecting on delinquent tax obligations?
He called the attorney (I
He called the attorney (I told him not to). Attorney says the tax obligation is for his business's Estimated Tax for 2016. He shut the business down at the end of 2015, but didn't cancel his Vendor's License.
A: "So I called their attorney. She said that 54k is my estimated sales tax for 2016 even though she knows my biz was closed December 2015
It's because I didn't cancel my vendors license
Me:
Oh shit. Gov't is charging your for EXPECTED income for 2015 even though you didn't file for 2016 and closed the business in 2015??
Well that's good news probably, that's 'a mistake'. Should all get reversed.
What did the lawyer say about that? That you still owe it, too bad? (that's what one would expect a lawyer to say).
I'd think you should deal with the state tax department to set things straight, not the lawyer.
How does the lawyer know the business was shut down in Dec 2015?
A:
I closed it down on the state tax site
Me:
So you shut it down, but they still charged for the 'unpaid' estimated tax.
A:
It's because I didn't end my vendors license
Me:
Sure but does that legally mean you owe estimated tax for income you didn't earn.?
A:
The state thinks so
And up to a $500 late fee"
Seek a financial advisor's
Submitted by Sanders Patricia on Sat, 02/24/2018 - 03:50