The U.S. Tax Court upheld trust fund recovery penalties imposed on a part-time bookkeeper for an urgent care center. He argued that as a part-time employee he wasn’t a “responsible person” for payroll taxes that weren’t paid over to the IRS. He claimed that the IRS settlement officer acted arbitrarily in assessing the penalty against him because he wasn’t a company owner and was one of many bookkeepers. However, the court found that he held the company’s power of attorney, with authority to pay over payroll taxes. He also sought to challenge the underlying tax bill, but the court noted that he’d failed to take a prior opportunity to do so. The court rejected both claims. (TC Memo 2022-13)
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