Secondary Liability for Federal Trust Fund Taxes

When collection of unpaid taxes cannot be effected from the person primarily liable for them, the Internal Revenue Code creates for the IRS a number of mechanisms for collection from secondary parties. To satisfy the requirements of fairness and due process, secondary liability is imposed only when the party has some nexus to the liability, that is, when that person\u27s actions helped create the liability or frustrated its collection from the primary taxpayer. This article discusses l.R.C. § 6672, one of the most widely used and important of the secondary liability mechanisms in tax. There are numerous § 6672 assessments each year. Attorneys representing small business and their owners can expect to have some clients who have § 6672 problems