Discussion:My sweet God, Jesus....summons to appear for R/A issue
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Discussion Forum Index --> Tax Questions --> My sweet God, Jesus....summons to appear for R/A issue
| 6 February 2008 | |
| Yes, we all know (NOW) that you should not act as RA of a company in any respects. CDN client that was my bread/butter fired me due to my advising him of his liability in the US for having nexus/sales tax/employees/income tax in the US.
FDOR called me and since he never removed me as RA I am still listed. Now today, I got a call from the US District Court in ******** County FL summoning me as the RA since the former client did NOT pay sales tax as agreed or income tax for the business. We are talking multi million dollars in the last 6 years with no taxes paid in the US. Either I will be in the former clients opinion a "whistleblower" which I never did or I will have to face them in court. I tried to get my name removed when the client fired me but never had another US presence. Maybe just maybe my time has come to be a WalMart greeter? hehehe Not funny but I gotta laugh or I will cry. Will get the summons delivered to me today and don't know if I have enough documentation to show I was fired over 2 years ago...... | |
| 6 February 2008 | |
| Sandysea - That type of thing can absolutely happen to anyone. But, don't lose heart - Walmart can wait until our brains don't work anymore.
Stop by any Catholic Church today & they'll gladly put ashes on your forehead since it's Ash Wednesday. That will put it all in perspective & then you can move forward. Good luck & keep us posted. | |
| 6 February 2008 | |
| IRS? What do you mean? Can I be held responsible for the immigration/federal/state laws when it comes to acting as registered agent until he fired me? He fired me b4 tax returns were either due or a year end completed. I begged to be removed and have documentation with FDOR that I requested removal....but I am the only US person they have to summon. He has no ITIN (would not complete W-7), his phone bills and electric bills were all in my name, my office address was acting as his physical address and then he filed sales tax returns but never paid the sales tax. Also voluntary disclosure of sales and excise taxes in 2004 for DC, FL, MA and CO.....now they are all looking to someone to hit the bat to....
I am Baptist but maybe the Catholics will give me some ashes on my forehead anyway.... | |
| 6 February 2008 | |
| I was kidding. I think you have a good defense. It will just be a royal pain in the butt at a very inconvenient time for you. I am sympathetic. | |
PostingFromWork (talk|edits) said: | 6 February 2008 |
| Holy cow! I thought R/A's were just for service of process. I didn't realize they had all the disadvantages of agency. | |
| 6 February 2008 | |
| Sandy, I hope you have found yourself an attorney. I don't really think you can be held responsible for anything, though; I think PFW is right, all you are required to do is accept service of process on behalf of the principal. They are looking for information from you, not to hold you responsible. If it were not so, CT and its many competitors in the R/A business would charge a lot more for their services than they do. | |
| 6 February 2008 | |
| They usually don't. But it appears the US Gov. can't find anyone else to summon. You're going to be ok here. Incidentally, have they previously sent you summons for any other people related to this company. | |
| 6 February 2008 | |
| I sadly was signature on the US bank account, deposited all the funds, paid the sales taxes until fired and did the voluntary disclosure agreement. I created contracts in the US, collected on those contracts and issued payments to the government for the sales taxes. Then when immigration violations and other transferring of funds took place between the US and CDA that I could not ethically stand for, I told the client. He then promptly fired me but I think I may still be a signer on the US bank account and I am the person that is the responsible party for sales tax, etc..... | |
| 6 February 2008 | |
| Don't go into this without legal representation, Sandy. But I still think you will be OK. You did the right things when you had control, and couldn't do anything after you were fired. | |
| 6 February 2008 | |
| I am not kidding now. I think you are OK, but you may exposure under Rico statutes. Katie is right - you need a good lawyer. | |
| 6 February 2008 | |
| Received the summons a few minutes ago...it is to appear before the Magistrate of the District Supreme Court of Palm Beach county. Named a defendant in the suit brought before the State of Florida VS. ****** inc. et al. Named as responsible party. Anyway, I guess next thing to do is find an attorney to explain all the gibberish to me. Thank you all!! | |
| 6 February 2008 | |
| You said in your original post it was a federal court. A state court is very different. | |
| 6 February 2008 | |
| Thanks IRS....so this is not as crucial? I thought it was US District court, but the paperwork says the supreme district court of the county in the state of.....I am obviously not an attorney but thank you for pointing that out...could be less damaging then? | |
| 6 February 2008 | |
| It's not necessarily less damaging, Sandy -- just a different forum with different (and possibly less predictable) rules. Who is the plaintiff? State of Florida? | |
| February 7, 2008 | |
| Sandy, if I were you, I would not share any more details of this until you speak with a lawyer. If I got something like that and had my name all over vendor accounts and was signatory on a bank account, it was scare the "bejebees" out of me. | |
| 7 February 2008 | |
| Sandy, I strongly agree with Natalie. So I would suggest:
1 - Sit back, close your eyes, and take a deep breath. Life will go on! 2 - Speak no more of the specifics in open forum. "Anonymous" web posts may not be as anonymous as many people believe. 3 - Since a named defendant, seek a good attorney. Keep us posted of the general events and how things go. Good luck! | |
| 7 February 2008 | |
| Thanks....no more talk of this until the outcome. Yes Katie the State of FL vs....et al | |
| 8 February 2008 | |
| Update; but only a brief one. This is only intended to advise others of the knowledge to NOT act as an R/A for ANYONE. Plaintiff spoke to me and this is only a brief review....
When I accepted the summons, I accepted as the R/A even though I am not. But by virtue of accepting it, I am now being held to deliver the summons to the President of the Corp and respond to the court of why I am not responsible. Never ever ever ever ever put your name on the line as a R/A. Leave it to Shapiro and others to have offices where they don't know the clients; they only accept documents in their name.... | |
| February 8, 2008 | |
| Sandy I don't believe being RA in itself subjects one to any liability. It just makes you the messenger to deliver officially delivered documents to the owners of the company. I guess you are "liable" to deliver messages.
I am RA for many of my clients, and provide this service as a courtesy free of charge. It doesn't make sense for them to pay some firm to be their RA. If you stop doing business with a client, it is important to get off as the RA because you may not know where they are and may not wish to provide this as a courtesy if they are no longer clients. If I'm missing something here or do not understand the duties of an RA correctly, I hope someone corrects me. | |
| February 8, 2008 | |
| *spiritual moment---warning warning warning*
Father, come, comfort your child, grant her peace as only you can. And we ask for a warrior to come alongside and fight this battle for her. Give her a strength in you, may she first seek your face (after all, she did call on you for the heading of the thread!), and not trust in herself, but in you. In Jesus' name, Amen | |
| 8 February 2008 | |
| Please understand BE that I am NOT an active R/A any longer but I was the ONLY legal US presence in the US...yes...
I know now I am liable; doesn't always only limit yourself as a messenger. If the corporation dissolves but still engages in business and you are the R/A then it could very well be when the government is looking for acknowledgement of payment or if you provide services (such as signing returns) you could very well be held liable. I know now...never ever ever again. | |
Bottom Line (talk|edits) said: | 8 February 2008 |
| Does make you wonder though about all those professional RA companies and attorney's. You'd think an attorney would be smart enough not to be an RA. | |
| February 8, 2008 | |
| Or maybe they have some kind of an "out" in the contracts? | |
| 8 February 2008 | |
| (((((((((((((JR))))))))))))))))))))) thank you my friend :)
From what I have read, please understand I am NOT an attorney so it is only my knowledge of what has been told to me: You can be an R/A but if you are the presence in a state by virtue of the officer, owner or partner that is engaging in substantial and not isolated activity in that contracting state and operate, conduct or engage and carry on a business in that state and maintains an office in that state relative to your office you are responsible as the party in which to breach any contracts with a contracting state. If you only act as R/A and have no other contact except for regular filings and there is a president or officer or other responsible party to respond to summons, then you are good and no reason to worry I am hearing. If however, the others are not available and you have authority over the corporation in ANY capacity (even as agent) then you will heed the warning. Just my 2 cents..... | |
| 8 February 2008 | |
| Hold on Sandy, do you have a lawyer buddy or friend down there you can talk to?
Seriously, if you are not registered agent at the Sec. State, I would think you are not the registered agent period. Besides that, it seems from what I read above that you were led to believe this was a summons to you, and this led you to go to the court. Anyway, we should not get into all the facts here; it seems that you are still listed with Sec. State as registered agent. BE Gooding is in the main right. | |
| 8 February 2008 | |
| Plantiff's attorney I am speaking with....I called one in my town; asking the Multistate tax commission to help me on this one. | |
| 8 February 2008 | |
| Well, sounds like you have done some research. See if you can discuss it with a FL. lawyer who represents only your interests, and take that advice. Too many cooks spoil the soup. P.S. I don't mean to discourage moral support!!!! | |
| 8 February 2008 | |
| I don't know, take a look at exclusions from coverage (outside of scope of policy). I would NOT prejudge it though. Might very well help. Good idea to take a look at policy to see what your duty of notification of a possible claim is also. | |
| 9 February 2008 | |
| Sandy, truly, you need your OWN attorney who represents YOUR interests. I don't see that the MTC is likely to be very much help here. MTC is an organization of state governments, represented by their state tax administrative authorities, and basically represents the interests of the states. That's not you. | |
| 9 February 2008 | |
| Sandy,
I concur with Katie. YOUR attorney representing YOUR interests. The plaintiff's attorney's remit is to twist things away from his client. If that means pinning the whole kit and kaboodle on you, so be it. | |
| 13 February 2008 | |
| Just an update, so simple....
FYI: Even though I am not the RA in FL due to a non existent corporation for failure to file, the atty has responded that service of process upon me was effective and in full compliance with FL statutes and case law. I only place this here to advise that never under ANY circumstances file as RA for a non US citizen or counterpart. Contempt of law is very serious but as well I stand on my facts; I was fired and I no longer represent the client as of the date of termination..... I want to help others.....so don't do it if you are in any way asked to do this in the future....no win situation I think :) Happy tax season!! | |
RoyDaleOne (talk|edits) said: | 13 February 2008 |
| Being a register agent does not make you liable for actions of your client(principal). Look at all the attorneys who serve as register agents in Florida. You are just person used for "service of process". You should notify your principal and carefully document what actions you take to notify the principal. I am assuming you did not and could act because of the lack of authority granted to you by the principal, for the issuses at hand. | |
| 13 February 2008 | |
| Thank you Roy. You are in FL so I hope you can help me. I was the executor of contracts due to the non US presence of the principal and also was the signer on the accounts. When he fired me and I resigned due to ethical reasons, he continued to engage and operate a business in the US under the RA name. I could still be a signer since they most likely did not do a new signature card but I am unable to access accounts.
All monies in US went to a foreign country but was US source income with taxes withheld and not submitted. I think this is why they are looking to me for the next step. There is no $$ in US account as the contract forwarded to me by atty showed $$ were to be in US funds wired to CDA. If it were only a US person/US presence I would not be concerned but without a SS# for the principal(s) this is way above my head....thank you again. | |
| 14 February 2008 | |
| Sandy,
I think this serves as a great reminder to us to dot our i's and cross our t's when it comes to clients, whether it be a sticky situation or not. Tom | |
| 14 February 2008 | |
| Sandy, As some posters above have mentioned, I too recommend that you do not provide further information about this litigation on this bulletin board. While it is very interesting, you may be making statements that could be considered admissions and therefore could be damaging to yourself or to the company you used to work for.
After you indicated that you would stop providing details, you have confirmed who the plaintiff is (State of Florida) and you have indicated that the defendant "continued to engage and operate a business in the US . . . ", among other comments. If the State of Florida is monitoring this bulletin board, these statements may come back to haunt you. I hope that you have retained an attorney to look out for your interests. | |
| February 14, 2008 | |
| Sandy, I'm going to ask Tim to ban you from the | |
| February 14, 2008 | |
| Sandy, and anyone else who thinks I was serious about banning Sandy from the site, I apologize. I would never think of asking her to leave, for I enjoy the liveliness she brings. I do believe, however, that she should not be posting anything else regarding this particular situation until she at least talks to a lawyer who is on her side. | |
| 14 February 2008 | |
| Oh, Natalie, we knew you were kidding, and I'm sure Sandy knew that too. But it was a good idea just the same <G>. Sandy dear, I know I don't need to repeat this, but I will anyway: get yourself a lawyer, and don't say anything more about the details of this matter in a public place. You are innocent of any wrongdoing and you'll be fine as long as you protect yourself. | |
Michaelstar (talk|edits) said: | 14 February 2008 |
| My suggestion with only Sandy's best interest in mind is to delete this entire post from the record as soon as possible. | |
| 14 February 2008 | |
| Well, I suggested she get a lawyer too. But they can be expensive. They're a dime a dozen. Go to local saloon near courthouse at 5pm. You can go earlier than 5 if you want, but then the judges are there also from 3-5 on slow days, and dominate the conversation until they leave for home at 5. Of course, I'm not joking. By the way, they will not be at Applebys, likely some hole in the wall around there, just watch. Try to find a lawyer that drinks Scotch, and doesn't sip his drink, good trial guy. Failing that.
This is not advice to Sandysea, but in general: That Summons was attached to the front of a Complaint. Read it. It says to file an answer within 20 or 30 days. Do it. There are numbered paragraphs to the Complaint, deny each one except for your name; this merely shifts the burden of proof back where it belongs, with plaintiff. This engages the battle, BUT if you don't file an answer, generally, game over, you lose: default judgment. Cut out the mental clatter, and get the simple stuff done, the clerk will help you with the mechanics, but not with legal questions, might even have a form down there depending on the level of court it was filed in. And, its not that hard to find a lawyer, go! Oh, and while you're at the bar, by all means mention you do taxes. Most of them have not filed for years, and you may pick up some work. Of course, I'm not joking. | |
| 14 February 2008 | |
| We speak only in generalities and hypotheticals on here. Sandysea is likely running a drill, much as our esteemed defenders in the military do. Think of it as a Wednesday afternoon in the good old days. Now, back to our regular programming. | |
| 14 February 2008 | |
| 'mention that you do taxes'..DON'T!! All the lawyers I've done 1. Never pay estimates, 2. Wonder why they owe. 3. Want/need an OIC 4. Have lousy records, if any. | |
| 14 February 2008 | |
| Hah, excellent point, if you get the work, you don't want it. We're not talking the silk-stocking lawyers here. SouthparkCPA does those guys, and they pay. Right Southpark? Though I'd hate to argue with a big firm lawyer that thinks he knows everything when he doesn't, especially about his money, very unpleasant.
Can Tim at least move this post to the Chat forum, if we're not going to delete it? It probably belonged there to begin with. | |
| 15 February 2008 | |
| Sandysea, you are one popular tax preparer. I have not been following the thread, just need the prison address, I'll bake you a cake with a file in it. And yuh, local saloon near courthouse is where you find the hardy types! | |
| 15 February 2008 | |
| You're so right, Joanmcq - lawyer who did my divorce in the 80's turned out to be absconding with client funds and not filing or paying his own taxes. I still have a nagging fear that he never got around to filing the final paperwork, making me a bigamist now.
At any rate, Sandysea, we all still are rooting for you, not to mention referring back to JR1's eloquent spiritual moment. | |
