Taxation & Estate Planning

IRS Gets Tough on Bradenton School

By Darrin Mish

The IRS has taken some strict measures to recoup what is due to them by Bradenton Preparatory School in Florida.  According to online news portal, Bradenton.com the federal agency issued a letter in December last year to all parents with children in the school to hand over all tuition and other fees to the IRS due to the large amount of taxes the school owes.  The order from the IRS also includes any other school assets or rights to assets parents may be holding, including deposits, credits and money.  Failure to comply would result in action taken against the parents.

The IRS letter dated December 10, informed parents that the owners of the school, The Children?s Place Inc. owes at least $1.25 million in corporate taxes, interests, late fees and penalties that were unpaid in 2007 and 2008.  The school has been facing financial problems resulting in repossession of its vehicles and foreclosure lawsuits on its properties.  In addition, the Better Business Bureau has received complaints about the school from concerned parties and the Florida Department of Revenue have filed a $12,285 tax lien for unpaid unemployment taxes.

When contacted for comment, Florida tax attorney Darrin Mish commented that the IRS action is an aggressive move on the part of the agency, adding that the IRS frequently issues such a notice to pressure taxpayers to pay their dues or commit to a payment schedule, in particular those who owe a lot of money or those who persistently ignore IRS letters.  Mr. Mish also reiterated that those who do not comply with the IRS directive ?would be subject to penalties from the IRS, pretty serious penalties.?

This action by the IRS has caused some parents to take the drastic step of pulling their children out of the school which is obviously a matter of grave concern to the owners as they try to overcome their financial problems.  The Children?s Place Inc. has already submitted revised and corrected tax returns and is awaiting the IRS? response.  In addition, they have set aside the necessary funds for settlement of some of their debts.

In the meantime, two of the school?s financiers intend to foreclose on the school property because of failure to pay dues on their loans of $5.7 million.  Already, non-payment has resulted in the repossession of one sports utility vehicle and the school is now on the verge of losing another of its vehicles, a Chevrolet pickup truck.

To read more about this article, click this link:

http://www.bradenton.com/2010/02/14/2055373_p2/irs-dont-give-bradenton-prep-money.html

IRS Gets Tough on Bradenton School is a post from: IRS Tax Problem Solver Blog - IRS Help

Full post as published by IRS Problem Solver Blog on March 02, 2010 (boomark / email).