Computer Error Causes IRS to Threaten Firms

The Internal Revenue Service sent letters threatening to seize the assets of thousands of companies after a computer foul-up showed erroneously that the firms failed to pay $300 million in withholding taxes, the IRS said Wednesday.

The mistake affected an estimated 10,000 companies in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware and the District of Columbia.

“Everyone has been getting threats of liens and everything else,” said Gerald Pacella, a senior vice president in the operations department of Fidelity Bank of Philadelphia.

At the Philadelphia regional office, where the problem began, IRS spokesman Daniel Seklecki said none of the companies has had any property or bank accounts have been seized.