2005 Federal Sentencing Guidelines
Chapter 2 - PART T - OFFENSES INVOLVING
TAXATION
§2T1.7. Failing to Deposit
Collected Taxes in Trust Account as Required After Notice
(a) Base Offense Level (Apply the greater):
(1) 4; or
(2) 5 less than the level from §2T4.1
(Tax Table) corresponding to the amount not deposited.
Commentary
Statutory Provisions: 26
U.S.C. §§ 7215, 7512(b).
Application Notes:
1. If funds are deposited and withdrawn without being paid to the Internal
Revenue Service, they should be treated as never having been deposited.
2. It is recommended that the fine be based on the total amount of funds
not deposited.
Background: This offense
is a misdemeanor that does not require any intent to evade taxes, nor even
that taxes have not been paid. The more serious offense is 26 U.S.C. § 7202
(see §2T1.6).
This offense should be relatively easy to detect and fines may be feasible.
Accordingly, the offense level has been set considerably lower than for tax
evasion, although some effort has been made to tie the offense level to the
level of taxes that were not deposited.
Historical Note: Effective
November 1, 1987.